Delusions of Godhood
by Celtic Cat
Summary: Sequel to Redemption. The SGCers discover that Anubis isn't the only one that wants the Goa'uld queen in their care. Please, read and review. Complete
1. Departure

7

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters for SG-1, nor do I expect to ever in the near or far future. All that's mine is Evree, a few bad guys and a bunch of squirmy little symbiotes.

Big thanks to Ernie and Kate for their help with the research.

Delusions of Godhood

Departure

O'Neill helped Evree into his vehicle. Not, it must be said, out of a sense of chivalry, but because she was so short that he got impatient waiting for her to climb in. But he did so in silence.

She was staring at him as he climbed behind the wheel. He kind of thought she would be, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He turned his head away, looking ahead at the street as he pulled out into the traffic.

Inevitably, it seemed, Evree just had to break the silence. "I only thought to please you."

"I realize that," Jack grated out.

"I know what I said," she remarked quietly. "But I do not know why it has angered you."

"I'm not angry," Jack replied tersely, not taking his eyes from the road. She was still looking at him, he could feel it.

"But you are not speaking to me." Her voice, so often so confident sounded meek and unsure now. Which made him feel guilty and added to his discomfort.

"I am speaking to you," he shot back. "See? Lips moving, sound coming out. Speaking."

"You are speaking at me, not to me," Evree replied pointedly. "I am merely trying to ascertain how I gave offense, O'Neill. I do not like having you put this distance between us."

"I just need a little space right now, Evree," O'Neill said. "I'm still adjusting to a very unusual relationship." Before Evree could continue to belabor the topic, he added, "Could we please drop the subject for now?"

In answer, the Goa'uld queen shifted in her seat and stared out the window.

Even though he had pretty much asked for it, Jack found that he still didn't like it.

&&&&&

Daniel decided to put in a workout first thing in the morning and was mildly surprised to see Evree in the gym already, almost a blur as she seemed to have the treadmill set to the maximum speed.

"I didn't realize that you were such a fitness buff, Evree," he greeted her.

Sam entered the room and joined them. "Hi, guys. What's going on?"

Evree declined to answer. In point of fact, she couldn't. She needed her breath for her exertions.

Daniel nodded at Evree who was having to slow down because she was running out of breath. "I'm betting she and Jack have been arguing."

"Again?" Sam shook her head in disbelief. Most of the couples she had known that argued that much had long since split up. And they didn't have Jack and Evree's cultural differences to overcome either.

Evree, realizing that they weren't going to let it go, not to mention that she wanted to know the whys and wherefores herself and didn't see herself getting them from O'Neill in the foreseeable future, stopped and paused a moment to catch her breath. "We were not arguing," she stated. "But I have managed to give offense, and O'Neill will not enlighten me as to why my remark offended him." She sighed. "I thought it would please him."

"What exactly did you say?" Daniel knew it was none of his business, but the whole relationship fascinated him. And was a topic of gossip for the entire base. Not that he contributed to it.

"I told him that Draylea enjoys it when we engage in sexual relations," Evree explained. "And I fail to understand..," She broke off as she saw the looks on her companion's faces.

Carter was torn between understanding and a sudden attack of the giggles. It wasn't funny to Evree, and it obviously wasn't to Jack, but it was.

Daniel muttered, "Oh, god," and covered his face with one hand.

Evree was as mystified by their reactions as she had been by O'Neill's. "But what did I say that was so wrong?" she queried plaintively.

&&&&&&

O'Neill and Teal'c were on the firing range. Jack had kept up a running monologue that filled the gaps while they reloaded.

"She said that she thought it would please me," O'Neill griped. "Like I like being reminded that there's two of them in there."

"You knew that before you initiated physical intimacy," Teal'c pointed out. "So I fail to understand why it should cause you such consternation now."

Jack belatedly realized that he had well and truly picked the wrong audience this time. Having grown up with and among Goa'uld, it just didn't seem all that bizarre or even a little kinky to the Jaffa. But it bothered him when he thought about it. Most of the time, he could just about manage not to think about it. Then, Evree had gone and had to rub his nose in it. "Forget I mentioned it," he grumbled. Daniel, he thought, Daniel would have understood.

"I shall endeavor to," Teal'c assured him, and calmly went back to his target practice.

&&&&&&

"But what did I do wrong?" Evree practically wailed in frustration. "Just because I went to great lengths to spare Draylea from pain, does O'Neill think I would shut her out from that which is pleasurable?" Despite the fact that she had yet to be enlightened, a small, almost smug smile curved the corners of her lips upwards.

"It probably didn't occur to him to think of it," Sam explained gently, while swiping at a laughter induced tear. "I think that, most of the time anyway, he sees you as a single person, and when you reminded him otherwise, it probably threw him for a loop."

"I can practically guarantee it," Daniel added dryly.

"Should I then pretend to be something other than what I am?" Evree demanded. Her eyes were starting to glow, and her voice began to display the typical Goa'uld resonance. "Draylea is very dear to me. Without her I could not exist. Does O'Neill expect me to ignore her, whose body I inhabit?"

"Oh, I'm sure he would go as far as that," Daniel half-mumbled. "But maybe if you could refrain from mentioning it when..," He trailed off, blushing.

"When you're having sex," Sam filled in the gap bluntly. "No one is going to ask you to ignore Draylea. Just practice a little diplomacy."

"Explain to me about diplomacy," Evree ordered.

Sam and Daniel exchanged looks and realized that diplomacy was probably not a word in the Goa'uld vocabulary.

This could take a little while.

&&&&&&

Evree watched, half-hidden, as SG-1 equipped themselves for a new mission. She would like to be there, helping them, seeing them off. But she was not yet sure that O'Neill would wish to see her, and she didn't want to add further stress to the high maintenance relationship.

Point in fact, Evree had once asked O'Neill if she could accompany them. And had received a flat no. She had then gone over his head to General Hammond. Hammond had been equally adamant, but had at least deigned to give her an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Evree," he had said with a shake of his head. "But your status is that of someone under protective custody now. You're too valuable to too many people for us to take unnecessary chances with your safety. As a matter of fact, I had to do some fast talking to get them allow you to remain here at Stargate command."

"Please explain," Evree requested politely. She still felt somewhat in awe of Hammond. Perhaps because he was O'Neill's commanding officer.

"If the bureaucrats had had their way," Hammond had replied. "Then you would be far away from here. Quite possibly locked up in some experimental laboratory. It took the direct intervention of the president himself to prevent that from happening."

Evree had mulled that over in her mind for a while. It was sinking in to her in a way that she had previously and quite deliberately ignored that she was nearly as much a prisoner here as she had been when Ahriman had held her. That she had somewhat more freedom of movement, and was treated courteously did not detract from that unpalatable fact.

Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her features, and Hammond noticed. "Evree," he said gently. "It won't be forever. But we can't risk letting Anubis getting his hands on you again. We got lucky the last time. It's highly unlikely that we'd get that lucky a second time."

"I understand," Evree rejoined quietly. "Have I your leave to go now, General?"

Hammond had been about to tell her that she was exempt from military protocol, then decided that it would only prolong what had been a more than somewhat uncomfortable exchange. "You can go now, Evree."

&&&&&&

Jack looked up from his last minute once over, making sure he had everything he was supposed to have. As he did so, out of the outermost reaches of his peripheral vision, he saw a movement in the doorway.

He turned his head to look at the doorway full on and saw nothing, but something that had been nagging at the back of his mind that some part of the ritual was missing, clicked into place.

"Evree? Aren't you going to come and say good-bye?" She hadn't missed a mission since they'd brought her back from Anubis' ship.

Evree slowly emerged. "I was not sure that you wished to see me," she muttered, avoiding his eyes. The rest of SG-1, having finished their tasks, melted away.

Neither O'Neill nor Evree noticed their departure. Their attention was solely fixed on each other. While trying to pretend that it was not. Evree caught up in a torrent of confusion as to just what her Tau'ri lover wanted from her, and O'Neill being torn between feeling like a jerk for making Evree feel that way and being irritated that, once again, he seemed to be the one at fault. But he couldn't very well leave without saying good-bye. Not that he was planning on dying anytime soon, but if he did, he didn't want it to be with Evree thinking he didn't want her around.

"It wouldn't have felt right," he remarked, closing the distance between them. "You're my good luck charm."

Evree managed to summon up a feeble smile. "Who was your 'good luck charm' before you met me?" She took the last step into his arms and luxuriated in the safe, comforting feeling she always got when he held her.

"It was always you," Jack murmured into her hair. "I just didn't know it then." He gave her a squeeze and a kiss, and reluctantly released her. "I have to go now."

"Come back safely to me, O'Neill," Evree ordered softly.

"I always do." Jack tipped his hat to her and strolled away, whistling.

&&&&&&

"So, where're we off to now?" Jack asked jauntily as he joined the rest of the team, pointedly ignoring the knowing looks that were exchanged.

"PR-862," Sam replied. "The M.A.L.P. has just gone through."

"Let's take a look then, shall we?" O'Neill suggested.

They all dutifully gathered around the view screen, seeing what the mechanized scout was observing electronically.

At first glance, it could have been almost anywhere. Trees, lots of trees. No apparent signs of intelligent life, though.

"Just once I'd like to see a gate that was in the middle of the town square," Daniel grumbled half-heartedly. "It would save a lot of leg work."

"It would also be extremely conspicuous," Teal'c pointed out.

"I was just thinking that it might be nice to be able to walk in through the front door sometimes, figuratively speaking," the linguist remarked a little wistfully. "Sometimes I think the whole universe is out to get us."

"Oh, I don't think it's much more than half the universe." Sam kept such a perfectly straight face that Daniel wasn't entirely sure whether or not she was joking. "What do you think, sir?"

Jack shrugged and pretended to consider. "Well, however much it is, let's see if there's something on this planet that can help us level the playing field."

Without further comment, he strode through the gate with the others obediently following after.

&&&&&

"Hello, Janet, do you have anything I can help you with today?" The physician occasionally gave Evree a fairly easy and non-sensitive chore to do, just to make her feel useful, although the Goa'uld queen would probably never have realized a need to feel useful. Now, she was beginning to feel her nerves being wound tight as a spring, the way they always did when O'Neill was off-planet.

"Sorry, Evree," Dr. Frasier replied. "We're pretty slow here at the moment."

"I need something to occupy my time," Evree muttered, more to herself than her companion.

"Colonel O'Neill has gone away on another mission?" Janet guessed.

Evree nodded miserably. "I do not know what is wrong with me," she complained. "But whenever O'Neill goes away like this, I find myself fearing that he will not return."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Janet soothed. "It happens to most people who have someone they care about in a high-risk profession. There is absolutely nothing abnormal about it."

"There is not?" Evree seemed to be stunned at the revelation. "How do they bear it? I have been with O'Neill but a short time, and each time, I feel as if each hour were a hundred years. Do Tau'ri exist thus for years? How?"

"I think it actually may get a little easier to deal with after you've had a some more time to adjust to things," Frasier suggested cautiously. There was still a body of opinion that Evree would sooner or later show true Goa'uld colors and double-cross them all. But that she was devoted to Jack O'Neill, Janet had no doubts. The waves of tension radiating from the little queen were practically palpable.

"Experience lends stability?" Evree guessed. At this point in time, she didn't see it happening, but not so very long ago, she would not have foreseen herself in a relationship with a human. Especially the one human whose name had practically become a curse word among her kind.

"Something like that," the doctor agreed. "Of course, some people don't learn to deal with it. They just let it eat them up inside until they break. And a lot of the time, all they would have had to do is just to find someone to talk to." She gave Evree a compassionate look. "Be sure and come talk to me whenever you feel the need."

Evree summoned up a sad, half-smile. "Thank you, Janet, I will."

&&&&&&

"Looks impressive," Jack admitted grudgingly. The edifice to which he referred managed to convey a sense of grandeur without being overwhelmingly large. And either it was a fairly recent addition to the landscape, or else the stone it was built out of wasn't actually, or entirely stone, because there was absolutely no sign of weathering. Or dirt, he realized, looking closer. Not so much as a single bird dropping marred the pristine surface.

"Do we go in?" Teal'c felt the question to be rhetorical, but he asked it anyway, to break the stillness that was becoming in some inexplicable way, uncomfortable.

Daniel, whose curiosity had led him to the forefront of the group was about to lay his hand on the door when Sam cried out, "Stop!" so abruptly and urgently that he froze where he was.

"Is there a problem, Carter?" Jack inquired.

"Wait a second," Sam muttered, almost as if to herself, fishing for something in her pack. "I just thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and I want to make sure before anyone does anything."

"Can I move now?" Daniel asked a bit plaintively. He half expected to be told that he'd tripped some sort of dead man switch and if he as much as breathed, they'd all be blown to kingdom come.

"Only backwards," Sam instructed. "Whatever you do, don't touch the door."

Daniel pulled himself back slowly, as if expecting the door to pounce on him if he made any sudden moves.

Sam was looking through night vision goggles that she'd unearthed from her backpack. "That's what I was afraid of," she remarked grimly.

"Booby trapped?" O'Neill queried, borrowing the goggles to see for himself. What he saw was a series of light beams in an array more delicate and intricate than any spider web Jack had ever seen. Make that several hundred spiders, he amended in his head. The tracery was finer than that on a dollar bill. "Just lovely."

"If the door is trapped, then we must seek another means of entry," Teal'c said sensibly.

"Or a way around the security," Daniel added. He'd moved on down the wall (and, not so coincidentally, away from the door), to look at some etchings that he'd spotted. Closer inspection had proved it to be writing.

"Please tell me that says we can get in without scaling the walls, tunneling under the foundation of slaying a dragon," Jack remarked hopefully. The joke, if indeed there was one, lacked the proper delivery to raise so much as a smile from any of his companions.

"No," Daniel answered slowly, as he got to the end of the inscription He was getting a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach at what he had read. "Actually, for right person, it isn't a trap at all. They could open the door and walk right in without so much as a scratch. And, presumably, let anyone else in that they brought along with them."

O'Neill had noticed that Daniel had managed to omit a vital piece of information. "So, who's the right person?" he asked, wondering why Daniel was being so cagey all of a sudden.

"It says the door can be opened safely only by a Goa'uld queen," the linguist blurted out.


	2. Arrival

15

Arrival

"With all due respect, sir," Jack said, nearly biting his tongue to keep the anger out of his voice. "Are you out of your mind?"

SG-1 had returned rather abruptly from their aborted mission, and they had immediately convened in General Hammond's office. Evree had not been invited.

"If you don't think the four of you are enough to guard Evree on what so far seems to be an uninhabited planet," Hammond replied evenly. "I can send another team along."

"How about not sending Evree along?" O'Neill suggested. "I mean, there may not be anything behind that door worth risking her for."

"Neither do we know that there is not," Teal'c pointed out. He pulled himself up to his full height, looking every inch the first prime again and added, "I will see that Evree comes to no harm, O'Neill."

"Maybe we could have her let us in and then have an armed escort to take her back to the gate," Daniel offered.

"What if everything in the place needs Evree to open it?" Sam asked pointedly. "Or what if we need her to get back out?"

"Oh, yeah." Daniel hadn't thought that far ahead, he was just trying to find an alternative to taking Evree on a mission before Jack burst a blood vessel.

"There has to be a surveillance team on her every time she leaves the base, but the red tapeworms are greenlighting sending her on a mission?" Jack was getting desperate enough to look for help from the bureaucracy that he usually bitched about.

"They seem to feel that the potential for a weapon that could protect Earth from the Goa'uld outweighs the safety of one Goa'uld queen," Hammond informed him. He could feel for Jack, he could, but he had responsibilities and duties as commander of this facility. "If you think that Evree will be too much of a distraction, then perhaps I'd better send a different team along with her, since it appears that she is the one unquestioningly essential member of the party."

That brought all of them up short, most especially O'Neill. In a way, Evree had become almost a mascot for SG-1. To send her out with another team didn't bear thinking.

O'Neill turned his back on the group and thought furiously. Hammond had been right about one thing, he would find Evree a distraction. And he had to admit to himself that he could become caught up enough in keeping her safe that it could endanger the others, and the mission. Having arrived at that conclusion, he decided that being able to admit that was at least half the battle, forewarned being forearmed. He'd go, and while they were away, everything would be kept on a strictly professional basis. Evree would be just another member of the team, nothing more, nothing less.

The rest of the team waited with bated breath to see what O'Neill would say. Mostly they were hoping O'Neill could solve his conflict, because the thought of letting someone else discover what treasures their find might contain rankled.

"No extra personnel," Jack declared decisively, turning to face the others once more. "We still have one of those Goa'uld bracelets, don't we?"

"If this is a joke, O'Neill, then I fail to see the humor in it," Teal'c rumbled.

"It's not a joke," O'Neill replied. "If she's going, and common sense to the contrary, she seems to be, then she should be armed and able to defend herself. I don't know what kind of a shot she is, so we'll give her a close range weapon."

"It would be something that she's probably familiar with," Daniel mused, mentally wincing at the thought of having had one of the devices used on him.

"And were she to lose possession of it," Teal'c added, thinking aloud. "It could not be used against us unless..,"

"We were up against another Goa'uld," Sam finished, then added. "At that point, it would hardly make a difference, since a Goa'uld would probably already have one."

"I'll see that one is issued to her," General Hammond assured them. "If there's nothing else, then you're dismissed." But as the team began to file out of the room, he said quietly, "Can I have a word with you, Jack?"

&&&&&&

Evree stood in front of the new, larger tank that now housed her young. Marvath had been eager to study the infant symbiotes, and, coincidentally, their mother, and the Tok'ra, with the SGC's permission had assigned him to the task indefinitely.

"They do well," he informed Evree, as she stood, watching them.

"But will they continue to do so?" Evree inquired, not taking her eyes off of her children. "I have been informed that none of us has survived in such a device for as long as it would take them to mature enough to take a host."

"We are constantly making refinements," Marvath replied soothingly. "Even as we care for them, your offspring teach us much." He paused. "When Anubis demanded that you be turned over to him, he also included your young as well. Why did he not persist?"

"I told him they were defective," Evree answered. "At the time, he had no reason to doubt my word." She traced a finger along the transparent wall of the tank, watching as one of the numerous symbiotes within swam to follow its movements. "But they are not defective," she declared firmly. Too firmly, as if she was trying to convince herself.

Marvath caught the undertones. "From what we have been able to ascertain from our tests," he said slowly. "They seem to be completely healthy and normal. But there is much that we cannot tell, and will not be able to until they are implanted within a host."

"More to the point, will they be allowed to take hosts?" Evree murmured. "The Tau'ri have very definite ideas on the subject."

"I doubt that they would go to all this trouble to keep your young alive only to condemn them to death," Marvath pointed out. "And there is time yet. Years. I am sure that a solution will be found."

"Thank you," Evree said, turning to him. "You have been most kind to one you have no reason to trust."

Before Marvath could formulate a reply, Daniel stuck his head inside the door. "Hey, Evree," he hailed her. "Shake a leg, you're going on a mission with us."

&&&&&&

"Are you sure that you're going to be okay with this, Jack?" General Hammond asked. He didn't want to take any chances. Either with Evree, or with SG-1. They were both valuable assets.

"I sincerely doubt that I could be okay with it," Jack admitted. "But I'd be even less okay entrusting anyone else with Evree's safety. I'll deal."

"If we could see any way around the problem," Hammond said. "Believe me, Evree would be staying right here. But we need to find out what's in that building. And while we might eventually find a way around the security, it would take time. The Goa'uld may not give us time. Especially Anubis."

"Yeah, I know." Jack looked far from happy, but he did seem to be making it as far as resigned. "I'm actually surprised that Anubis hasn't paid us a little visit yet. Payback for stealing Evree away from him."

"He may not have more than a hunch that it was us," Hammond pointed out.

"I doubt very much that he feels a crying need for more than that," O'Neill remarked. "If he's not coming sooner, then it will be later."

"In which case, we need a way to fight him and take out his drones," the General reminded him.

"Which is why Evree is going with us to PR-862," O'Neill finished. "Permission to go, sir?"

"Permission granted," Hammond replied. Then, as O'Neill headed for the door once again, he added. "Take care of her, Jack."

"That was the general idea," Jack answered as he went out the door.

&&&&&&

In a room deep within the building on PR-862, there were two beings.

One took the eye first simply because it was so unusual. It appeared to be related to Terran felines, but the creature easily stood four feet high at the shoulder, with long, curving fangs that bordered on tusks. The stereotypical image of a saber-toothed tiger was blurred though, by the fact that the creature was gray, with tabby stripes in a darker shade, and its eyes were a startling, brilliant aquamarine.

The feline's companion was humanoid, perhaps even human, and while not built on quite as large a scale as his pet, he was impressive enough. Though he was seated on a piece of furniture that could only be called a throne, it was obvious that he was easily over six feet tall, and broadly built along with it. Raven-black hair was tied at the back of his head and formed a single, perfect curl. His skin was swarthy, and his eyes an even darker brown than Evree's, nearly black. While the signs of indulgence were about him, there was also something that spoke of great strength as well.

At the moment, Konaseus, for that was his name, was gazing into a monitor which showed the front of his domicile. There was nothing there to be seen at the present time, but he was pondering on the activity that he had witnessed earlier.

"There was a Jaffa with them." He must have been speaking to his pet, since there was no one else present. His voice was soft and melodious, at odds with his physical presence. "They did not have a queen with them, but perhaps they will be the ones to deliver her to me." He paused, and his eyes took on an avaricious gleam. He stroked his neatly trimmed goatee thoughtfully, then, his hand moved to rub the feline behind its ears, eliciting a deep-throated purr.

"Yes, my pet," Konaseus murmured. "Perhaps at last my centuries of waiting have ended. I shall have my goddess, and myself become a god."

&&&&&

SG-1 had had to delay their departure while Sam took Evree to get her fitted out properly. While the bureaucracy had approved a clothing allowance for Evree, she had been given free rein in choosing her wardrobe as long as she stayed within her budget. However, the wardrobe she had chosen had little to do with practicality, and a great deal more to do with being attractive.

All three males in the party turned to look when Carter escorted the militarily made over Evree. Daniel was forced to turn his head to hide an amused smile. Teal'c's only thought had been that she be outfitted appropriately, and seeing that she was, he gave it no further thought, not particularly caring whether she was attractive or not.

Jack took in the sight of Evree in military garb from head to toe and decided it might not be all that difficult to maintain a professional objectivity. Then, he pricked up his ears and listened. Evree was speaking, and from the tone of her voice, she was not happy.

"It is most uncomfortable," Evree complained. "And hot."

"Well, it was either tuck it inside your clothes or cut it off," Sam said with an air of exaggerated patience which suggested that it wasn't the first time. "You just can't have all that hair hanging loose to catch on things, or that someone can use to catch you with. And there's way too much of it to fit under your cap."

Jack unconsciously relaxed at hearing this. It had struck him that not only had Evree looked ridiculous in the get-up, but something had also seemed to him to be wrong, and now, he knew what it was. The luxuriant, knee-length waves of silky hair that he was used to seeing. He was glad to hear that she hadn't gotten rid of it.

"Has she got everything she needs, Carter?" he inquired. Evree was standing there moving her head in an odd manner. Probably trying to get her hair into a comfortable position.

"Yes, sir," Sam answered with a sigh. And as far as the clothes went, it hadn't been easy. Evree was a smaller person than the air force accepted, and the smallest uniform had still required a serious amount of tucking in and rolling up. At least feet were more variable, and they had found a pair of boots that had fit. Not that Evree had been happy with them, either. The only way that Sam had gotten her to shut up about the unaccustomed footwear was to hint that if she didn't do what she was told and wear what she was told to, then she might not even be allowed to accompany them.

That had worked until Evree had thought past the lie and begun complaining again. The only reason that Sam wasn't more put out than she was, was that she suspected that a large part of the griping stemmed from an acute attack of nerves.

"She packing?" O'Neill didn't see any evidence of the weapon Evree was supposed to have.

Evree halted her cranial convolutions to stare at him. She was trying to figure out precisely what she was supposed to be packing.

"In her pocket, sir," Sam filled in hastily, seeing Evree's confusion. "Since whoever built the place knows about Goa'uld, I thought it possible that they might recognize the device."

Jack nodded approvingly. It never hurt to have an ace up your sleeve. He turned to Evree. "As soon as we meet anybody, if we do," he instructed. "Put your hand in your pocket and keep it there until I give you the all clear. Got it?"

"Yes, O'Neill," Evree replied, then, not sure of protocol and how it applied to her added, "sir."

"You don't have to call me sir," O'Neill informed her. Then, looking at the amused expressions on everyone else's faces said, "We've wasted enough time. Let's saddle up and head 'em out."

&&&&&&

The moment the group emerged on the far side of the gate, O'Neill said, "I'll take point. Teal'c, I want you bringing up the rear. Carter, I want you and Daniel to make sure that Evree is in the middle of things. Just because we didn't run into any trouble the last time doesn't mean we won't this time."

Evree stumbled over an exposed tree root, and was prevented from falling by Daniel's hand on her elbow.

"Take it easy," he cautioned. "If we're going too fast for you, you could ask Jack to slow down a little."

"No." Just in that one word, Evree conveyed the notion that this was some sort of test that she dare not fail, but Jackson heard her murmur, "No offense to you, Draylea, but the next time I choose a host with longer legs."

Daniel didn't mention asking for a slow down again, he merely kept a close eye on Evree and helped her over and around obstacles.

Evree did not seem nearly as impressed by the building as SG-1, she merely observed it critically and asked, "What if someone other than I were to attempt to enter?"

In reply, Jack picked up a stick, and with a deceptively lazy looking toss, threw it right into the doorway.

Before it made contact with the surface, it was completely vaporized.

Evree went ashen. "And we will just automatically believe that whoever wrote that..," She indicated the etching. "..,was telling the truth and not setting a trap?"

"We do not know." Teal'c was looking thoughtful. "But how do we find out without endangering Evree?" This last was directed toward O'Neill.

"Good question." Jack looked at Evree calculatingly. "If you want to back out of this, say so. No one's going to make you."

"I merely offered it as a theory," Evree said hesitantly. "I will go."

"Wait." O'Neill came up behind her, hooked one hand in her belt. "Go slow. If something goes wrong, I'll try to pull you back."

Evree gave O'Neill a look that seemed to suggest that it came as a pleasant surprise to find that he cared about her safety. Which reason told her it should not have been. O'Neill had been looking after her since the moment they met.

The precautions turned out to be unnecessary, however. As Evree's hand neared the door, Sam, watching with the night vision goggles, saw all the sensors wink out, and then, the door opened.

&&&&&&&

It was a vast, echoing chamber, with a ceiling so high it nearly got lost in the shadows. Torchlight would have seemed appropriate for the occasion, but the illumination was a bit more prosaic, glowing fixtures of an undetermined power source.

Immense though it was, the room's sole purpose seemed to be as an entryway, as several doors led off of it.

"Carter?" O'Neill didn't feel a need to elaborate, and Sam still had her goggles handy.

"Nothing I can see, sir," she replied. "So far it's looking like once you're in the front door, you're home free."

"And that's usually when the trouble starts," Daniel muttered to no one in particular.

"I suppose the next question would be, which door?" Sam remarked.

"How about that one?" Jack pointed straight ahead. It was not a door, but a pair of doors, large,ornate, and obviously leading further into the center of the structure.

Since O'Neill had made his decision, Evree started towards the door, only to be halted by Teal'c.

"Wait!" His voice was so commanding that Evree stopped in her tracks. He turned to O'Neill and his tones changed to that of a subordinate. "Would it not be more prudent to keep Evree between us until such a time as Major Carter detects further traps?"

"Actually, I was about to say something along those lines." Jack gave Evree a stern look. "Don't go wandering off. We can't protect you if we don't know where you are."

"I'm sorry, O'Neill," Evree apologized. "I shall do nothing unless you say so."

"If only I could believe that," O'Neill muttered, not quite enough under his breath. "I believe that we were going to see what was behind door number one."

&&&&&

"They protect the queen," Konaseus murmured, watching unseen in the heart of the citadel. "Reasonable, laudable, even. But most inconvenient from my point of view." He paused and watched some more. He did not listen, but merely watched. Just from watching their movements, the way they surrounded her, he could have told that the diminutive female was his queen. He would have known even if he hadn't seen the other female on the previous visit. If she had been the queen, certainly they would have entered then, and not returned to their place of origin to fetch the other one.

He was frustrated because he could see so little of her. The enveloping clothes, the hat pulled down to obscure her features. He was disappointed as well. He was sure that she was lovely, though. Goa'ulds never chose a host that was less than of outstanding beauty unless there was no choice to be had. But there were other reasons for his consternation at her mode of dress. Should not a queen look like a queen? Perhaps she thought to disguise herself from him, and that thought did not please either.

"Let her hide amongst her servants as she will," he reflected. "Now that she is here, she shall never leave again. Not even were the universe to collapse around our ears." Then, he began to laugh, a higher pitched tone than one would have expected, and the sounds of his mirth echoed around the chamber.

&&&&&

Three rooms later, and they still hadn't seen anything worth taking a closer look at, not even the ever-curious Daniel. The whole group was starting to feel frustrated and wondering if the entire trip had been worth the fuss when they went through the next door.

"Greetings, visitors." The voice was not overly loud, but it carried to them clearly, although whether by nature or art it was impossible to tell. It was enough to make them all stop and stare.

He was clad from shoulder to knee in a silky crimson tunic. A heavy, gold medallion rested on his broad chest, and a jeweled earring twinkled at them as it caught the light. He stood and began to approach them, his sandal-shod feet slapping against the stone floor.

"I am Konaseus," Konaseus continued. "Welcome to my humble home."


	3. Opening Gambit

22

Opening Gambit

Evree stood staring at the stranger, dumfounded, until O'Neill hissed, "Evree!" reminding her of his instructions. She hastily slid her hand into her pocket, ready to slip the bracelet on.

Konaseus could feel the tension radiating from the group. Obviously he was going to have to win their trust if he were going to be able to approach the queen. He halted several feet away from them and bowed deeply.

"You, none of you need fear me," Konaseus said in soothing tones. "Most especially you, my queen." Ever alert to every nuance, he noted that one of the male's jaw muscles tightened, if ever so slightly. Perhaps his queen already had a consort? One that did not appreciate his use of possessive terminology in regards to the queen. He mentally sized up the opposition and decided that should things come to a physical confrontation between them, he was assured of an easy victory.

SG-1 regarded what was evidently their host with various reactions. Jack had gone from wary distrust to out and out paranoia with a side of intense dislike. And he didn't like the way the guy referred to Evree as 'his'. Sam and Daniel ran more to cautious curiosity, the foremost question being, what did he want with Evree? Teal'c merely stood ready to interpose himself between the stranger and Evree, should he get too close, since he had promised O'Neill that he would protect her.

Evree stared unashamedly, fingering the bracelet in her pocket like a set of worry beads. He was so large, this Konaseus. She had grown accustomed to being smaller than almost everyone else around her, but never had she felt quite so small and vulnerable as now. She was glad that O'Neill was beside her. Then, her eyes bugged out in fear when the room gained yet another occupant.

Konaseus noted the queen's anxiety and turned his head to see the cause. "Fear not, my queen," he boomed jovially. "My little pet will do you no harm." When he saw the rest of the group had almost reflexively brought arms to bear, he hastened to reassure them, as well. "Truly, there is no need for alarm. He is most well trained, and will not attack unless I give the command."

They all reluctantly re-holstered their weapons, but despite Konaseus' amiable manner, not one of them believed that Konaseus would have the slightest qualm in ordering the big cat to attack if the fancy took him.

"Come, come." Konaseus was beginning to be irked at what he considered their excessive vigilance, and was hard put to keep his irritation out of his voice. They were supposed to be warming to him, responding to his friendly words and behavior. "I have introduced myself, perhaps one of you would be so kind..," He let the sentence trail away, sure that the mere mention of their lack of manners would suffice.

It did. Jack gave himself a mental shake. He felt like he was in the middle of some kind of surreal dream. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, of Stargate Command on Earth." He indicated his companions. "Major Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and..," Something compelled him to move just a little closer to Evree. "..,Evree."

"You are all most welcome." Konaseus bowed again. Yes, this Colonel Jack O'Neill must be the queen's consort, given the way he hovered over her. "I am sure that you did not venture through the chaapa'ai merely to socialize, but surely you must wish to refresh yourselves after your journey. Please, allow me to be your most gracious host." At an unseen signal, a knee-high metallic.., thing, glided into view, its matte surface riddled with tools of indeterminable usage. "The servitor will escort you to rooms where you many repair the effects of your travels. Then, I insist that you dine with me."

O'Neill didn't like it, but short of being rude and alienating Konaseus, which should probably be avoided at all costs, there was nothing to do but comply. "Thank you," he replied, a little less than graciously, nearly choking on the words. "It's very considerate of you."

Konaseus smiled at him, or perhaps bared his teeth, it was hard to tell, and with a grand gesture, bade them to follow the mechanoid, which was already making its way across the floor.

&&&&&

The room they had been led to was spacious, airy and well lit. As far as the furnishings, the word that sprang to mind was decadent.

To Sam's intense dismay, once the mechanoid had ushered them to the room, it had immediately disappeared. She would have liked to have had the opportunity to examine it.

Jack and Teal'c were checking the room for bugs, traps, whatever. O'Neill was assuming that there would be bugs, even if he couldn't see them. He didn't trust Konaseus, and didn't think he ever would, even if the jolly giant walked on water.

Evree was inspecting the rooms furnishings, and finding them very much to her taste. She wasn't sure about Konaseus, and just the fact that he had gone to so much trouble to bring her here did not bode well, but.., She liked the room. It reminded her of the one she had had before Ahriman had taken over her planet. She opened a door off to the side and found a luxurious bath laid on, with the tub set in the floor and large enough to actually swim a couple of strokes in. Especially for Evree. She unconsciously let out a delighted squeal.

O'Neill went to investigate whatever it was that had caused Evree to make that noise. It didn't sound bad, but he hadn't heard her make that particular sound before. When he saw the bath, he let out a semi-disgusted sigh. "No," he declared, before she could ask what he knew she was going to ask.

"But, O'Neill." She looked up at him pleadingly, and saw nothing but resolution in his features.

"But nothing," Jack replied. Then, seeing how disappointed she was, decided that it wouldn't hurt to take the time to explain, this time. "Suppose something goes wrong and we have to get out of here in a hurry. It might be a little difficult, or a lot embarrassing if you were taking one of your two hour baths."

"Yes, O'Neill," she answered a little sadly. She could see the wisdom in his words, but that beautiful bath.., She had seen nothing like it on Earth. She gave the bath one last wistful glance and went back into the main room.

"Anybody got anything?" Jack asked as they reassembled.

"No surveillance devices that we can detect," Teal'c reported. "Which may only mean that they are of a design that we are unfamiliar with."

O'Neill nodded. "I'd say that the safest bet would be to assume that we're being monitored the whole time we're here," he commented. "Anything else turn up?"

"Yes." Carter was coming back from the room's main door with a bundle of fabric in her hands. "This was just delivered by another of those little robots. I think we've been given a change of clothes."

Evree immediately relieved Sam of the burden and started sorting through the clothing. When she came to some raiment whose size proclaimed that it was meant for her, she once again turned to look at Jack.

"Not unless you have a way to analyze every thread in those clothes," O'Neill said firmly. He avoided adding that he didn't like the thought of her accepting clothing from another man. "Evree, this is a mission, not a pleasure trip. Please try to get that through your head. And I personally don't trust Konaseus any farther than I can throw him."

"Yes, O'Neill," Evree answered with a sigh. This was not turning out to be the exciting adventure that she had been anticipating. If she didn't know better, she could almost suspect O'Neill of engineering the whole thing just to keep her back on Earth without complaint in the future.

&&&&&&

Konaseus frowned as he watched the monitor that pictured his guests leaving their room to be escorted to the dining hall. Not a single one of them had accepted his generosity by replacing the drab garments they had arrived in with the colorful, stylish garb he had had made for them. Admitted, it had cost him only the effort that it took to give the servitors the orders, but still. He did not understand why they adamantly refused to unbend. Had he not been a model host so far? Had he not done everything he could to supply all their wants and needs? And yet, they spurned his gifts, and carried arms under his roof.

More direct measures would possibly have to be taken if they did not begin to thaw to him soon. He had waited so long, that he cared not to wait further. Just seeing the queen within his own walls fanned the flames of his avarice. He had been patient long enough.

&&&&&&

"I'm not too keen on eating with this guy," Jack grumbled, even though he recognized the diplomatic necessity of it. "God only knows what he could have put in the food."

"If he were trying to kill us," Teal'c replied. "Then he could have done so a dozen times over without even showing his face. I do not believe after all those missed opportunities he would attempt to poison us."

"Poison is just one possibility," Sam pointed out. "How about something along the lines of mind controlling drugs? And the only way we have of knowing that they're there is..,"

"To try the food," Daniel finished. "Maybe one of us should guinea pig the food first, and everyone else holds back until they see it's all right."

"That might work," O'Neill admitted. "But how do we manage that without offending him? He's bound to notice that only one person is eating, he doesn't strike me as being dumb."

"Maybe we could cover with conversation," Sam suggested. "You know, everyone, except our guinea pig gets too wrapped up in the discussion to eat."

"Which would only leave the question," Teal'c observed. "Who is to be the 'guinea pig' as you put it. I volunteer."

"And if junior was still along for the ride, I'd say yes," Jack answered. "But the tretonin doesn't do all the things your symbiote did. If things get sticky, I want you ready to kick some ass, not passed out on the floor."

"Then it would seem that if you need someone who is expendable," Evree mused. "Which would seem to make me the logical choice, since I would be near to useless in a fight."

"If you were expendable," O'Neill shot back with an exaggerated show of patience. "Then it wouldn't have taken so much to get you here in the first place. You are not going to be the official food taster."

"But if the food is tainted in some way," Evree pointed out, not yet ready to back down. "Then I am the only one equipped to deal with it, since, as you say, the Jaffa no longer has his symbiote."

"She's got a point, Jack," Daniel agreed grudgingly. "None of the rest of us have any way to counteract the effects of whatever might be in the food."

"And unless it is a really nasty poison, which we've pretty much ruled out," Sam put in. "Then no matter what it is, Evree is probably in no real danger. Which is not something that you could say for any of the rest of us."

Jack was starting to feel boxed in, and he hated it. He hated it even worse that they were right. There was only one way that it wouldn't scan. He couldn't give Evree a direct order to risk her life since she was not technically under his command. Since she had brought it up, though, he didn't think she would take the out. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" he asked her. "When all is said and done, it's still a risk, and it's your life."

"You and Daniel risked your lives to rescue me from Anubis' ship," Evree replied. "The least I can do is eat a little food to ensure your safety."

Daniel had a thought that was, despite the gravity of the situation, bringing an amused grin to his lips. "You do know that that means that you're going to have to taste everything on the table, don't you?" he inquired. Evree's picky eating habits had become a running joke in the mess hall.

"You are a cruel man, Dr. Jackson," Evree remarked sternly. "If it were only your safety involved, I might not do it just for that remark."

A beeping sound outside the door announced the arrival of the mechanioid, or possibly a different one, it was anybody's guess, to escort them to dinner.

"Well, I guess that dinner is served," Jack commented, working to push his qualms aside. The universe wasn't going to change the way things were for him.., again. Time to put his best foot forward and deal. He offered his arm to Evree. "Shall we?"

&&&&&

Konaseus noted the queen's arrival on the arm of the one called O'Neill. He liked it not, but considered the fact that O'Neill was the queen's consort to be a minor obstacle. He would have been more concerned if she had been dallying with the Jaffa.

He gave thought to the possibilities, and decided ruefully that his best course of action was to continue with his attempts to win the whole of the queen's retinue over before he concentrated on the queen herself. The queen. Evree. The name was almost as unimposing as the body she wore. Of great beauty, to be sure, but he was truly astounded that she hadn't chosen something a little more impressive.

Evree, oddly enough, was thinking on similar lines, if from a different angle, as it were. At least to the extent that she might not have felt so uncomfortable around Konaseus if she were a bit larger. She peeked up at him once more, and amended it to a lot larger, and clung even more tightly to O'Neill's arm.

"It gives me a nice warm glow in a macho sort of way to know that you trust me to protect you, Evree." Jack bent to whisper in her ear. "But a little circulation would be a good thing too."

Evree loosened her grip slightly with an apologetic glance. "He's just so.., so.., large," she murmured back. "Or is it that I am so small?"

O'Neill was about to say that it was six of one and half a dozen of the other, but halted himself. For a Goa'uld, Evree could be awfully insecure sometimes. No sense in adding to it. "There's nothing wrong with your size," he informed her softly, and was rewarded with a warm smile that promised better things to come when they had the leisure for it.

As they approached the banquet-sized table, Kronaseus stood to greet them. He had discarded his crimson attire in favor of a nearly identical garment in peacock blue. He was studying the group as if they were bugs under a microscope.

"Did not the garments I provided please you?" He seemingly addressed the whole team, but O'Neill noted that his eyes were on Evree. "If they displeased you, all you needed to do was to speak to the servitor. Something more suitable would have been provided."

"No offense intended," Daniel replied soothingly. "We just feel..., less ill at ease in our own clothes."

Konaseus nodded understandingly, swallowing his disappointment. He had eagerly anticipated seeing the queen in raiment befitting her station. Ah well, time enough for that later. Time for everything.

Their plan regarding food-tasting worked out better than they had anticipated, due to the fact that each dish that was brought out was offered to Evree first, giving her opportunity to sample everything without the least hint that anything might be amiss. At least from a chemical viewpoint. It was plain enough from Evree's face that some of the comestibles fell far short of pleasing her very particular palate.

The entire lavish feast was served by more of the mechaniods. Different from their earlier escort, larger, with arms that utilized nearly human movements to place the food on the table and remove the remnants of the previous course.

"You seem to have quite a few of those robots, Konaseus," Same remarked between bites. "Do they do all the work around here?"

Konaseus gave her a genuinely warm smile. It wasn't much, true, but it was a foundation upon which to build his guest's good will. "Indeed they do, Major Samantha Carter," he replied genially. "Do you like my little toys?"

"I'd like to have the opportunity to examine one, if I may," Carter answered. "The appear to be a pretty advanced design."

"You are much too kind." Konaseus was positively beaming now. "But as you seem to appreciate my poor efforts, what can I do but grant what you desire? One, or a hundred, as many as you wish."

Sam was momentarily taken aback at the effusiveness of his reply. "Um, just one will do," she half-mumbled. "Just something to show me the basic operating systems."

One down, thought Konaseus. But how to beguile the others? Perhaps if he could persuade them to confide why they had entered his domain, it might give him a clue. "But what can I do for the rest of you, my new friends?" he inquired innocently. "For surely you had a purpose for coming here."

"Indeed," Teal'c rumbled, having carried on a silent conference with O'Neill before breaking the silence. "We have reason to believe that a Goa'uld named Anubis intends to attack the Earth. We seek a means of defense."

"Pardon me for being rude," Konaseus said, looking mystified. "But if your technology is such that you admire a pack of menial robots, then why would Lord Anubis bother..," His voice trailed off and his features lit up with comprehension. "Ah, of course. The queen."

"Amongst other things," Jack drawled. He'd been watching Konaseus all evening, and the big man hadn't made a single slip. Not, that is, until the word 'Lord' had passed his lips. At least now, they knew where they stood. Sort of.

&&&&&&

"Well, that was fun." O'Neill's face as he uttered those words suggested that the evening had been fun only if your definition of fun was having a root canal. Without anesthetic. They were now back in the room they had been shown before dinner. They had been offered, and politely declined, separate rooms.

"Hey, Evree, what exactly did Konaseus have to say to you when Colonel O'Neill had to leave the room?" Sam inquired. Jack had had a call of nature, and Konaseus had practically pounced on Evree the moment his back was turned.

O'Neill's eyebrows shot up as he regarded Evree. She hadn't mentioned the conversation, and she'd been talking to Daniel when he got back from the can.

"He wanted to show me his garden on the roof by moonlight," Evree responded matter-of-factly. She did wonder, though, why O'Neill was looking at her like that.

"And what did you tell him?" The words burst out of O'Neill's mouth before he could think of a way not to sound like a jealous boyfriend.

Something about Jack's reaction seemed to amuse, or please, Evree. She smiled sweetly at him, and replied, just as sweetly, "Why, I told him that, subject to your approval, I was sure that we would all be delighted to see his garden."

Daniel and Sam snickered, and even Teal'c was smiling broadly.

O'Neill relaxed visibly, and even began to look amused himself. "Surely he didn't just let it lie there, did he?"

"Actually," Evree answered thoughtfully. "He seemed to be unable to speak. I took the opportunity to excuse myself and go join Daniel." Her expression suddenly became more serious. "I do not like the thought of being alone with him. He has a hunger in his eyes that never goes away."

"Don't worry, Evree." Sam put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "We won't leave you alone with him."

"Damn straight, we won't," O'Neill agreed.


	4. Forging Bonds

30

Forging Bonds

"I could take a watch," Evree declared stubbornly, her lower lip beginning to extend in a pout. "In fact, I am the best equipped among us to remain alert for an extended period of time."

"I do not believe that anything we could get out of this trip is worth putting up with this," Jack growled softly. "I thought you said you weren't going to do anything without my say-so."

"I did," Evree admitted. "But I did not say I would do so without discussion, O'Neill. Why did you allow me to accompany you if you are going to refuse to utilize my abilities?"

"We brought you along to open the door," O'Neill reminded her. "You are, for the most part, a civilian observer. Observer as in watch, not participate." Their voices had been steadily rising in volume, to the consternation of the room's other occupants.

"Will you two please knock it off?" Daniel requested plaintively. "Those of us who are going on watch would like to get some rest."

Evree and Jack glared at each other for a moment, as if each thought the other solely responsible for the disturbance. Then, by tacit consent, they moved across the room, away from the sleepers. Or the would be sleepers. Voices were lowered, but the discussion was far from over.

"You are being most unreasonable," Evre stated firmly, if more quietly. "I am not requesting that you allow me to fight at your side should the situation require it. Merely that I be allowed to do that which I am able to do."

His team being what they were, Jack had grown accustomed to being questioned instead of receiving blind obedience, but Evree was pushing the envelope. And arguing was getting him nowhere. Maybe the soft touch would be better.

"I'm sure you could stay awake for days on end," he murmured. "But the rest of the team are used to working together a certain way, and...,"

"You don't trust me," Evree broke in rudely, and a little heatedly. Well, a little more heatedly. "All I ask to do is to stay awake while you warriors take your rest. The only other demands on me besides being wakeful would be being observant and giving the alarm if needs be. But you do not trust me with such a simple chore." Her voice was starting to rise in volume again.

"It's not that I don't trust you," O'Neill returned with more than a hint of asperity. "But, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm the leader of this happy little band, and things I might do if I had only myself to consider, I can't do when I'm responsible for the welfare of my command. Get it?" He sincerely hoped so. He was starting to run short of patience.

"I understand." Evree's tone of voice did not match her words. She sounded far from mollified. "Is it that you think I will not be watchful? Or that I will attempt to murder you all in your sleep? Or perhaps you believe that I will infect you all with Goa'uld symbiotes." She turned and started away from him.

"Now wait just a damn minute." O'Neill easily closed the distance between them and caught her by the shoulder.

Evree turned on him furiously, eyes glowing. "Release me," she demanded in echoing Goa'uld tones.

"Shut up," came the chorus of voices from the other side of the room, and a pillow came sailing through the air that caught O'Neill a glancing blow on the head. He and Evree glared at each other a while longer, then, Jack, no longer able to help himself, started to grin, realizing how ridiculous the two of them were. His humor was contagious, and soon Evree was giggling along with him.

&&&&&&

The night passed without further incident. Or arguments. A servitor stood ready to escort them to breakfast. Konaseus did not join them.

Jack eyed the mechanoids as they went about their occasions. Since they had met Konaseus, there seemed like there was always one or more of them nearby. "If I was a betting man," he remarked. "I'd bet that those little guys are equipped for surveillance." He took a sip of his juice and made a face. Right now, he'd kill for a cup of coffee.

"Well, Konaseus did say I could examine one," Sam put in. "So I'll have a chance to find out."

"That's assuming that the one he gives you to study is the same as all the rest," Daniel pointed out.

"And he does seem to have the means to manufacture things quite quickly," Teal'c added. "For instance, clothes made to our measurements in a matter of minutes."

"A robot is just a little more complex than clothes," Sam replied. She took another bite of whatever was on her plate. She liked it, but she wasn't sure what it was, and thought that she might be better off not knowing.

"Do we have any sort of schedule that we're going by here?" Daniel inquired.

O'Neill shook his head. "As long as it takes. Or, until something urgent comes up. But, we do have to check in periodically."

"When are we due to report in?" Teal'c asked.

Jack glanced at his watch. "About an hour and a half from now." And realized that he had a dilemma. the only way to report in was through the M.A.L.P., which sat beside the gate, about an hour's walk away. Konaseus might take offense if all of them suddenly left before he could make an appearance. On the other hand, he really hated the thought of dividing up the team. He became aware that everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to make a decision. Evree was wearing a poker face, absolutely no clues there. Part of him wanted to keep her where he could keep an eye on her, but the more reasonable part of him said that she'd probably slow him, no, make that them, use the buddy system, down.

"Daniel, you're with me," O'Neill stated, getting to his feet. "The rest of you get to stay here and make nice with Konaseus until we get back." Then, even though he knew it didn't need to be said, he said it anyway. "Teal'c? Make extra sure that..,"

"Evree is never left alone with Konaseus," the Jaffa finished for him. "You should leave now, O'Neill, to allow yourself a safety margin."

"Yeah, I know." Evree's silence puzzled him. She'd argued with just about every other decision he'd made so far, why not this one? "You ready, Daniel?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Daniel rose to his feet as well. "Later, guys."

Evree beckoned to O'Neill with her eyes, and he braced himself for the argument. Instead, she merely said, "I understand."

&&&&&&

"I cannot for the life of me figure that woman out," Jack remarked as he and Daniel made their way back to the gate. "And I'm starting to think it has nothing to do with her being Goa'uld. I think it's more of an X chromosome thing."

"Maybe you should stop trying to figure her out and just accept her as she is," Daniel suggested. "But, for what it's worth, she can't figure you out, either. Have the two of you ever considered talking?"

"We talk," O'Neill replied sourly. "Or, at least, we start to. Somehow one of us always manages to say something to piss the other one off, and then we wind up having a big, hairy argument."

"Look, I'm no relationship counselor, Jack," Daniel commented. "But instead of flying off the handle when one of you manages to say the wrong thing, and from what I've seen, it seems to happen quite a bit, don't you think it might be a bit more productive to tell each other why it offends?"

O'Neill mulled that one over a bit. "Maybe," he conceded grudgingly. "We've both got tempers on us, and I guess we just tend to let fly instead of finding out why." He thought some more, and a smile started tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But the make-up sex is..,"

"Nothing I need to know about," Daniel filled in hastily. He picked up the pace until he was several feet in front of Jack and he could get his own smile under control.

&&&&&&&

"They have been gone only minutes," Teal'c informed Evree. "It will, in all likelihood be nearly two hours before they return."

"It feels as though it has been at least that long already," Evree sighed. "I wish that I had something to do. Even sterilizing test tubes for Janet is better than nothing."

"When I start working on one of the robots you can take notes for me," Sam promised. "That is, if Konaseus keeps his promise. And, if he ever makes an appearance."

"I greet you on this beautiful day." Konaseus entered as if on cue. He took in the sight of their diminished numbers. "But where are Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson?"

"We are required to report in to our superiors periodically," Carter explained. "So they know that there's nothing wrong."

"I understand the reasoning for it," Konaseus replied. "But it fails to explain why they have had to leave."

"The device through which we communicate is located near the chaapa'ai," Teal'c elaborated. "They will return as soon as they have finished."

Once again, Konaseus was struck by the notion that these Tau'ri had an extremely crude technology. It amazed him that they had been able to figure out how to travel via the chaapa'ai. But it was something that might well work out to his advantage, so he held his peace. "I see that you have availed yourselves of my hospitality. I hope that the fare was to your liking?"

"It was very good," Evree said politely, though in truth, she had not eaten much. Even when the food smelled good to her here, it had a taste that she could only describe as 'off'. "I was surprised that you did not join us." She was trying to be diplomatic, and thereby advance the mission so that she could go back to Earth and never again complain about going on another mission. She wanted to be away from here, away from the large man looking at her with the predatory gleam in his eyes.

"I am most pleased," Konaseus assured her. Of the entire group, it seemed to him that his target was the one that was the most ill at ease in his presence. He must take steps to remedy that. First things first, though. He was actually glad that part of the team had gone. Now, to weed away some of the rest, that he might have the queen to himself. "Major Carter, I believe I made you a promise last night. If you will follow me, I will show you to my workshop, where you may build or take apart as your whim takes you." He wasn't entirely surprised to find that the queen and the Jaffa followed along in their wake.

Sam felt her jaw fall nearly to her knees when she saw the interior of Konaseus' workshop. Every type of tool and component she could think of, not to mention many that she didn't even recognize were ranged within its walls. The lighting was perfect, the arrangement was perfect, it was simply.., perfect. A contented sigh escaped her lips. She could spend years in here and never be bored.

Konaseus walked them around the room, showing off what was familiar, and explaining that which was not. He even demonstrated a few techniques, his large hands surprisingly deft with some of the more delicate instruments. At last, Carter was happily ensconced, taking apart one of the robots, and he turned to Evree, doing his best to ignore the Jaffa.

"My gardens look nearly as lovely in the sunlight as they do by the illumination of the moon," Konaseus said smoothly. "Perhaps you would care to tour them now, my queen?"

Evree flicked a quick glance at Teal'c, as if to remind him of his promise not to leave her alone with their host.

"I am sure that we would be delighted," Teal'c replied, accenting the 'we'. Seeing the thunderclouds begin to gather on Konaseus' face, he added, "Evree is required to have a guard by her at all times." That was actually not too far from the truth, although the big Jaffa would have no compunctions about lying to Konaseus. He didn't trust him anymore than O'Neill did. "It is policy, you understand."

"Of course." Konaseus was hard put to swallow his disappointment. "The queen being a most precious commodity, it would not do to take chances with her well-being."

"It is very kind of you to make the offer," Evree added, happy that Teal'c had stepped in. "But I did promise Major Carter that I would take notes for her."

Konaseus' forehead furrowed in confusion and consternation. "You do menial work for one of your attendants?" There were many things about his visitors that he did not understand, but this, this was beyond all comprehension.

"The queen likes to take an interest in what is going on around her," Teal'c filled in. So, Konaseus thought that they were all subordinate to Evree. It might be something that they could use. He would have to inform O'Neill the moment he returned.

"Most commendable," Konaseus murmured. "I shall leave you to it then. You have but to ask should you need me. Or anything. The servitors will relay your request."

"Thank you," Evree said as graciously as she could manage, then trying not to look like she was hurrying, went to join Sam. For some reason, she felt contaminated merely by being in their hosts' proximity. Sam and Teal'c were her refuge for the moment. But she would feel far better once O'Neill returned.

&&&&&

"So, now that we're hopefully out of the range of any surveillance that Konaseus might have," O'Neill said conversationally. "What do you think of the guy?"

Daniel tried a nonchalant shrug, but didn't quite manage to pull it off. "Maybe I've been doing this too long," he replied. "But it always seems that whenever anyone is that friendly and helpful, it usually doesn't seem to bode well."

O'Neill nodded. "Caught that, did you? If it were one of the good guys we were dealing with, getting help would probably be like pulling teeth." He sighed. "But if Carter is onto something with those robots, she might find something that is worthwhile. We can't afford to screw that up."

"But I think we'd all feel more comfortable about the whole thing if he didn't seem to be fixated on Evree," Daniel commented.

"You noticed how he said 'Lord Anubis' last night?" Jack asked rhetorically. "Think he might be working with or for him?"

"I suppose it's possible," Daniel mused. "But if he is, it was an awfully careless slip. And he doesn't strike me as being stupid."

"Me neither," O'Neill agreed. "Just for once, couldn't we run into a stupid bad guy? Just for the variety, if nothing else."

"We're not one hundred percent sure that Konaseus is one of the bad guys, yet," Daniel protested.

"Really?" O'Neill shot him a look. "I didn't like leaving Evree back there even with Teal'c guarding her. The only reason I did, was because I couldn't see a choice, other than scrapping the whole mission. But if he's got a white hat in his closet, I'll eat mine." He picked up the pace and moved up ahead a few yards.

"I really hope that I'll be able to say bon appétit, Jack," Daniel muttered as he stretched his legs to catch up.

&&&&&&

"I am doing this correctly, Major Carter, am I not?" Evree showed her painstakingly neat notes to Sam.

"That's great, Evree," Sam replied. "But you don't have to call me Major Carter all the time. You can call me Sam like everyone else." Upon reflection, the only people she could recall hearing Evree call by their given names were Daniel and Janet. She didn't even address Jack by his first name.

"If you wish it," Evree replied. "You all seem to have so many names. Except for the Jaffa and me, and we just have one."

"Well, if you want to get picky, you have yours, and your hosts'." Sam was ready for a breather anyway, and decided to take a break from the work to tease Evree a little bit. Maybe she could get her to lighten up a little bit. She was way too serious.

"That is not what I meant, and I believe that you are aware of that," Ebree answered. "Draylea and I are, or can be, separate entities. You are, seemingly, several people in one. You are Major Carter to General Hammond. To O'Neill you can either be Sam, Carter, or Major Carter. Daniel usually refers to you as Sam and Teal'c always calls you Major Carter. And I have heard Selmac call you Samantha."

"Actually, I think that was Dad, not Selmac," Carter answered. "I guess that it is a little complicated, but sometimes, how you address someone depends on your relationship to them. My father refers to me formally, or informally, depending on what he has to say. I guess you could say that my superior officers do the same. Daniel always calls me Sam because he sees me as a friend. And Teal'c.., Teal'c just tends to be a little formal with everyone."

Evree absorbed the entire lecture with all seriousness. "I have no official status," she said slowly. "Where does that put me? I thought that perhaps it were best to use formal titles."

"You don't with Daniel," Sam pointed out. "At least, not all the time. Is it because you consider Daniel to be your friend?"

"I think that Daniel was the very first person to show me friendship," Evree conceded. "I feel a certain amount of affection for him."

"You seem to have more than 'a certain amount of affection' for Colonel O'Neill," Sam remarked. "Don't you ever call him Jack? Even when you're alone?"

Evree shrugged. "It never occurred to me to do so," she murmured. "And O'Neill has never brought the subject up." She grew pensive again. "I believe that there are a great many subjects that O'Neill has never brought up, and I wonder if it is a matter of oversight, or if he has done it on purpose."

"You can bring things up yourself, you know." Sam wasn't sure that she was the one to be dispensing advice to the lovelorn, or whatever it was that Evree was, but she seemed to be the only one available for it at the moment. Or usually. "You don't always have to wait for Jack to make the first move."

Teal'c had been prowling the room, not exactly restless, just trying to cover the entire area at once. To protect Evree, and keep his promise to O'Neill. Part of that involved watching Evree some of the time. And when he was doing that, he was not aware of what was going on in the doorless archway that led into the room. He was paying attention to Evree when Konaseus' cat entered the room.

The beast was incredibly fast. Before the startled squeak fully escaped Evree's throat, before Sam and Teal'c could draw their weapons, the animal was on him, razor sharp fangs preparing to sink into his throat.

Evree didn't know what she could do, but she could not bear to do nothing, and watch Teal'c be torn to shreds. Sam stood beside her helplessly, unable to fire her weapon for fear of hitting her team member. Suddenly, it was as if something clicked in Evree, and gave her the answer. Or perhaps it came from centuries of being treated as, if not a god, then something akin to it. She was accustomed to command, and so, she commanded.

"Release the Jaffa!" she boomed in full Goa'uld voice. The cat looked up from its prey and blinked aquamarine eyes at her. Evree returned the gaze coolly. So far, it had seemed to work, but the beast still had Teal'c pinned to the floor. That was unacceptable. "Leave us," she commanded. And the cat, as if it had been trained to respond to her voice, stepped off of the Jaffa and strolled out of the room.

"Well, I'll be damned," Sam said softly. She didn't know what had made Evree think of it. Perhaps the cat just naturally responded to a Goa'uld voice. Or had been trained to.

Teal'c picked himself up off the floor. He was feeling exceedingly embarrassed at having been caught off guard. Having his throat torn out only would have added injury to insult. But Evree had saved him, and that must be acknowledged. He went over to the two women and bowed to Evree, although he took care to keep himself at an angle where he could keep one eye on the doorway.

"You have saved my life and it is yours," he said formally. "I owe you a blood debt."

"You owe me nothing," Evree replied softly, feeling at least as awkward as the Jaffa. "You have no reason to either like or trust me, but you have been kind to me. I know that it was mostly, if not solely for O'Neill's sake, but it has touched me, and I would like to consider you my friend. May I?" She laid a tentative hand on his arm, looking up at him as though she were afraid that he would spurn her overture, but unable to stop herself from making.

It suddenly occurred to Teal'c that there must be no one lonelier than a Goa'uld. With most of them, of course, it was largely by choice. But Evree had truly proven that she was not as other Goa'uld. He smiled down at her warmly. "I would be honored to be your friend."

"Thank you," Evree said, looking both happy and relieved at the same time. "Besides, I am sure that O'Neill would be most put out with me if you were to die."

Teal'c and Sam both began laughing at that, and after a moment or two, Evree joined them.


	5. Hide and Seek

37

Hide and Seek

"At this point in time, sir, I can't say how long it's going to take," O'Neill said, standing so he could be picked up on the M.A.L.P.'s camera. "Carter seems to think there's some technology here that could prove useful."

"Do you want to send Evree back?" Hammond inquired. "I know you weren't planning on an extended mission."

"I think that would be a really bad idea." Daniel put his two cents' worth in before Jack could reply. "Konaseus seems to be obsessed with Evree. I think he would probably not take her leaving well."

"Do you concur, Colonel O'Neill?" Hammond was liking this less all the time.

"Yes, sir, I do," O'Neill answered. "To be honest, if he's not working for the Goa'uld, then he's some kind of Goa'uld groupie. Right now, I think Evree is our life insurance policy."

"Let's hope that policy doesn't run out," the general returned gravely. "If there's nothing further, then report back tomorrow at this same time."

"Will do, sir," O'Neill said as the screen on the M.A.L.P. blinked out. He turned and saw Daniel looking at him sympathetically, and, trying to make the best of a less than optimal situation, turned towards humor. "The sacrifices we make for our planet," he quipped.

&&&&&&

The door opened for O'Neill and Daniel just as it had for Evree initially. Evidently Konaseus had keyed it to accept all of them now. A servitor robot sat apparently waiting for them.

"What do you think it's waiting for?" Jack inquired as they stood and stared at it.

"I think maybe it's waiting for us to tell it where we want to go," Daniel suggested.

"Take us to where the rest of our team is," O'Neill ordered. The little machine, humming softly, began gliding across the floor with the two men trailing behind.

The mechanoid stopped in front of an arched doorway, so Jack figured that must be where the rest of the crew was. As he got to the entrance, he called out, "Honey, I'm ho..," He cut off abruptly as he saw Teal'c standing there facing the doorway, weapon drawn. A quick glance told him the Sam and Evree were all right. "Okay, what did I miss?"

Evree, mindful of the proprieties didn't throw herself at him, but she gravitated in O'Neill's direction rather quickly.

"That big cat of Konaseus' attacked Teal'c," Sam explained.

O'Neill looked the Jaffa over again, and noticed that there were a couple of rips in his clothes, and they bore the particular wrinkles that suggested that their wearer had been in a scuffle, but otherwise, Teal'c seemed no worse for the wear. "I guess that it wasn't that serious about killing you," he said slowly, feeling the whole while that it wasn't true.

"Incorrect," the Jaffa replied. "It was but a few inches from tearing out my throat when Evree saved me."

"Evree?" It burst out of Jack and Daniel simultaneously. She flicked her eyes at them, then looked away just as quickly, as if to suggest that Teal'c was talking about someone else named Evree.

"The creature seems to be trained to respond to a Goa'uld voice." Carter put forth her theory. "She told it to let Teal'c go, and it did."

O'Neill was looking at Evree with a new respect in his eyes. "Evree?"

Evree at last worked up the nerve to move close to him, and for some reason, Jack felt himself compelled to put professionalism aside and put his arm around her, only to find that she was trembling, ever so slightly. The incident must have shaken her more than she would let on to the others.

"I knew that you would be displeased if Teal'c were to die," she muttered against his chest. She had taken the breach of protocol as an opportunity to avail herself of a much needed snuggle.

"I'm not too thrilled about him having been attacked at all," Jack replied grimly. As Evree turned her face up to him, he realized there was still some reassuring to be done. "I'm not mad at you, Evree. You did good. Real good." He gave her a squeeze before releasing her. If that beast of Konaseus' was hunting them, then it was probably best to be on the alert.

"Have you spoken to Konaseus since this happened?" Daniel inquired. "Because I seem to recall him saying that it wouldn't attack unless it was ordered to."

"Under most circumstances that would be true." They all started. None of them had heard him approach, the big man moved almost as silently as his pet. "But currently, it is the mating season. The males become exceptionally territorial. My most profound apologies. But rest assured that he is safely locked away until this madness has passed." He turned to Evree, almost inevitably, it seemed. "Or, if you would prefer it, I shall have him destroyed."

Evree looked to O'Neill for an answer. She didn't much like the animal, but mainly because she found its size intimidating, much like its masters'. Jack gave her a small shake of the head, barely detectable. "Killing the creature will not be necessary," she murmured. "So long as you do keep it restrained while it is so dangerously unpredictable."

"It shall be as you say, my queen," Konaseus vowed. He knew that he had a lot of patching up to do on his tenuous relations with the Tau'ri, and more to the point, their Goa'uld queen. He was under the disturbing impression that any little bit of trust he might have gained had been lost. Hopefully not irrevocably. "Again, I offer my deepest regrets. If there is anything, anything at all that I can do to make amends, you have but to say so."

"We're fine," O'Neill said with such a wide-eyed innocent look that the remark could not have been sincere.

Konaseus bowed deeply and left, praying he had at least been able to effect some repairs.

O'Neill waited until he was certain that Konaseus was out of earshot. "Carter, are you getting anything worthwhile out of that robot?"

"It's a little early to tell yet, sir," Sam replied. She really wanted to do a thorough job. But not at the cost of someone's life. "I've just barely gotten started."

O'Neill nodded understandingly. Frustrating as it could be, you just couldn't rush these things. "Teal'c?"

"I shall not be caught unawares again, O'Neill," he replied. He said no more. He felt that in his lapse in vigilance he had let his friend down. What if the creature had attacked Evree, whom he had sworn to protect, instead of him?

"It wasn't your fault, Teal'c," O'Neill said firmly. "You had too much territory for one person to cover. You're good, but you're not Superman." He carried on with his poll, even though he knew the decision was ultimately his. "Daniel?"

"If no one else has a problem with it," Jackson replied. "I'm kind of curious to see more of this place."

Jack nodded. About the reply he'd expected. With Daniel, curiosity seemed to supercede anything else. But there was still one more person to consider. The one, as General Hammond had pointed out, that was absolutely essential. "Evree?"

Evree, at this point in time, wanted nothing so much as she wanted to be away from this place. But neither did she wish to disappoint O'Neill. Certainly she had done that often enough. "I shall be content to abide by whatever decision you make, O'Neill," she responded, inordinately pleased that she managed to keep the tremors out of her voice. She saw O'Neill's eyes take on a calculating look, and before he could open his mouth, added, "with no arguments."

Jack knew that Evree was putting on a brave front for him, and perhaps, for the others as well, but he was getting sick and tired of going home empty-handed. "Okay, we'll hand around a little bit longer. Carter, back to your robot. Daniel, go ahead and poke around if you want to, but be careful. I don't think Konaseus is careless enough to let the same 'accident' happen twice. But there could be others."

They all nodded in agreement and began to disperse, but Teal'c lingered.

"What of you and Evree?" he inquired. Now that he and the Goa'uld queen had forged a bond of sorts, he was concerned for her for her own sake as well as that of his friend.

"I was always of the opinion that life-saving deserved some kind of reward," Jack drawled. He looked at Evree. "You still want that bath?"

&&&&&

Daniel left the workshop, intending to wander around until he saw something that struck his fancy, but almost immediately, he was accosted by one of the myriad mechanoids. And a thought occurred.

"Does Konaseus have a library?" he asked.

As the machine merely sat there, he realized that asking questions was a waste of time. The robots didn't seem to be programmed for speech. They only followed orders. "Take me to the library," he ordered, hoping there was one for the device to lead him to.

Evidently there was, for the servitor immediately began moving again. Daniel watched it for a second, then followed.

&&&&&

Evree sank into the scented waters with a contented sigh. Just like home, before her home had been taken away. Except for the lack of attendants, and she had learned not only to deal without them, but even not to miss their absence. She would have preferred to have O'Neill join her, but he still felt a need to be on guard. In deference to his indulgence, she determined that she would not spend too much time on her ablutions, although surely O'Neill had exaggerated when he said two hours. He must be.

O'Neill, on his part, steeled himself for a considerable wait. He was actually hoping she would manage to keep it down to two hours. She'd been known to go nearly three.

"Tell me something, O'Neill," Evree demanded imperiously, momentarily stopping in her task of washing a slender arm.

"Anything you want to know," he promised, then covered his ass by adding, "as long as it's not classified."

"What is the real reason why you have allowed me to use the bath?" Evree didn't even glance his way, but carried on with her bathing with single-minded dedication. "It cannot be for saving the Jaffa. I did nothing. Besides, your initial reasons for refusing me are still valid."

"You only did what no one else could do," Jack rejoined. "And maybe because I've been a little bit harder on you than I ought to just to prove that I'm not allowing you to distract me from my duty."

"Still," Evree remarked wistfully. "It would be much nicer if you could join me."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait." O'Neill had been deliberately not looking at her naked. Way too much of a distraction. "And you'll have to make do with the bathtub at my place."

"I would be honored." She smiled at him, even though she knew he wasn't looking.

&&&&&

Someone else was looking though. There was no place, not the tiniest nook or cranny of his domain that he could not view. And at this point in time, and indeed, since the newcomers had arrived, his interest was solely on the Goa'uld queen. Any effort he expended on the rest of the group had merely been a ploy to get closer to her. Now, he merely watched. And a vision she was, floating in the middle of the oversized bath, hair fanned out over the water behind her like a dark cloud. If only the meddlesome Tau'ri would but leave her alone for a moment. Then, whether she came willingly or not, she would be his. He had considered her to be his property from the moment she had entered his citadel. For the time being, the game had its amusing aspects as well as its frustrating ones, and that was the main reason that he continued to play. But he was beginning to tire of games. Soon, it would be time to put the games aside and claim what was his.

And take his first step towards becoming a god.

&&&&&

Teal'c prowled, uncertain as to what he was seeking, but feeling the need for some sort of activity. He would have stayed to guard Major Carter's back while she did such intricate work, but she had assured him that it was unnecessary. And so now, he searched. But whether for a weapon, or the key to what made Konaseus tick, he wasn't sure, but he searched.

&&&&

O'Neill glanced at his watch as he heard Evree emerge from the water. An hour and a half. That had to be a record. He gave her a few more minutes to get dressed, then turned around to see her, clad in flowing, coppery iridescence. She twirled, and satiny fabric and silky hair billowed in graceful waves.

"You're beautiful." His mouth was leading a life of its own again. That hadn't been what he'd intended to say. "But wouldn't you say it's a little impractical?" Just a subtle reminder that he hadn't wanted her wearing anything Konaseus had provided.

"You would expect me to put clothes I've been wearing more than twenty-four hours back on?" Evree asked serenely, unaware, or perhaps deliberately unaware, of his disapproval. "As to whether the raiment is practical or not depends upon what you intend to accomplish."

"And just what do you intend to accomplish?" O'Neill asked a little suspiciously. Or maybe more than a little.

"Why to further the mission, O'Neill, of course," Evree replied, smiling up at him. "Konaseus wants something from me. Wants it badly enough to cater to you and your friends. Perhaps he will be even more helpful if he thinks he is going to get what he wants."

Jack bit his lip. It was sound enough reasoning, but he didn't like it. "Any plans in particular?" he inquired. "Or are you just going to let me try to second guess you?"

"He will think it is a step in the right direction that I am wearing that which he gifted me with," Evree remarked. "Other than that, I do not know what else I can do that I have not been doing, being polite to him. I fear that pretending friendship for him may be beyond my powers of dissimilation."

"Then you weren't planning on flirting with him?" It would have been sound strategy, but O'Neill knew that he was going to sleep easier knowing that she wouldn't be making eyes, even insincere ones, at Konaseus.

Evree paled. "I beg of you, O'Neill, do not even say that in jest." She suddenly threw herself at him. "He frightens me. Somehow, he frightens me even more than Ahriman did."

"And yet you're doing this," O'Neill commented. "Are you sure this is to further the mission? Or is it just an excuse to wear the clothes?" He unbent enough to hug her for a moment. She was awfully high-strung, for a Goa'uld. "You know, even that little bit could make things more dangerous for you."

"And I would not even think of doing it if you were not here to protect me, O'Neill." She looked up at him with such utter trust that it almost threw him for a loop. She had considered him her protector from the very first, but he hadn't quite realized the extent of her faith in him. It was a little overwhelming. It also started O'Neill thinking.

"When we get back," he told her. "I may have to wade through a sea of red tape to do it, but I'm going to get some leave time and take you up to my fishing cabin. Just the two of us, no one else around. No missions, no distractions. Maybe we can even find some time to just sit and talk."

"And I believe that that may mean even more to me than having you bathe with me, O'Neill." She gazed up at him for some time. "Can you not break protocol long enough to kiss me?"

&&&&&

Daniel was swearing softly to himself. Konaseus had a library all right. A big one. Thousands of books. And just going down the line, he had counted books in at least seven different languages. None of which he read. He kept on, though. With all those books that he hadn't examined yet, there might be, almost had to be, at least one in a language that he understood or could at least puzzle out. There had to be. He gritted his teeth and carried on, getting more frustrated by the moment.

&&&&&&

They all met in 'their' room before dinner for a quick clean-up and debriefing. Everyone noticed Evree's change of clothing, but said nothing.

"Carter, how's it going with the robot?" O'Neill was a military man by choice, but still, being on alert twenty-four/seven started wearing on a person pretty quickly.

"Good," Sam replied. "But slow, I'm afraid, sir. There's some very intricate circuitry involved."

"It's about what I expected," Jack sighed. "It's going to take a few more days then, huh?"

"At least," Carter replied with an apologetic look.

"Daniel? Teal'c? What have you guys been up to?" Hopefully they could get more out of this trip than a robot to show for their pains.

"Well, I've been looking through Konaseus' library," Daniel began. "It's a pretty big library too. The only problem is, I haven't found anything that I can read yet, so I don't know if there's anything that's of any potential value to us. I have detected ten distinct languages so far. Either Konaseus is a linguist, he has a hell of a translating program, or the books are just there for show."

O'Neill looked thoughtful. What kind of knowledge could they be missing out on just because none of them spoke the language? Or, languages, as the case may be. "You might want to find a diplomatic way of asking Konaseus that," he reflected. "I take it that the library will probably occupy you for the duration?"

"Probably," Daniel agreed. "Especially if there is some way that I can get the stuff translated."

As Jack looked to Teal'c, the big Jaffa shook his head.

"I have been through most of the interior of the citadel," he rumbled. "I saw nothing of undue note. Except for two things." He paused for effect. "First, aside from ourselves, Konaseus seems to be the only sentient being here, for all the size of the place."

"We were pretty sure of that anyway," O'Neill pointed out. "What's number two?"

"There is an entire, sizable wing to which I could not gain access," Teal'c answered. "One of those robots even attempted to prevent me from traversing the corridor to the door leading into it."

"Makes you wonder what he's got to hide," Sam commented. She looked at Evree again. "Sir, would you mind if I changed for dinner?"

Before O'Neill could remind her that she was on duty, Daniel stepped in.

"Maybe having two beautiful and attractively dressed women at the table might distract Konaseus enough that he'll let his guard down and tell us something useful," the linguist mused.

Jack looked to Teal'c for back-up.

"It would take an exceptionally obsessed man, or one who was not attracted to women to fail to be distracted by such a combination of charm and beauty," the Jaffa said gallantly.

Jack sighed while Evree and Sam both beamed at Teal'c. He didn't think he'd ever heard his friend talk that way before. Then, he looked again at the approval Teal'c was getting from the two women and decided that at some point in the future, he might have to ask the Jaffa for some pointers on the subject.


	6. Beauty and the Beast

45

Beauty and the Beast

Konaseus beamed delightedly as the party entered the dining hall. He had known the queen to be beautiful, but now, she simply took his breath away. And Major Carter was far more attractive than he would have suspected. Sam was dressed as Evree, save for the fact that she was garbed in jade green. The two females contrasted and complemented each other. And both indeed were a delight to the eye. Perhaps he should keep them both, once he had accomplished his goals. After all, a man needed his diversions.

&&&&&

O'Neill had been against seating the women next to Konaseus, and seeing the look in his eyes now, like he was ready to eat them alive, he was glad he hadn't let himself get talked out of his decision. Let them sit as far away from him as possible, where Konaseus could look, but not touch. Definitely no touching.

Daniel caught the look too, and made a silent, heart-felt apology to every woman he'd ever ogled. Okay, so it wasn't like the way Konaseus was greedily taking in all the details, but still.., He'd been an advocate for having Sam and Evree sit near their host, and was now mightily glad that Jack had overruled him.

Teal'c glared at Konaseus, but it had no effect whatsoever, since the big man wasn't looking at him.

Konaseus noted how the men of the Tau'ri seated the ladies. A useless, but elegant gesture. He liked it. He didn't like that they'd seated them so far away from him. He suppressed a sigh. Soon enough, he would have them both to attend to his every whim.

"I hope that barring that one unfortunate incident, your day went well." Konaseus was testing the waters, checking to see if the Tau'ri were soft and forgiving.

There were exchanged looks and hesitations, as no one was quite sure how to fill in the breech. And they weren't at this time, ready to discuss the 'one unfortunate incident'.

Finally, just as the silence was starting to grow awkward, Daniel jumped in. "You seem to have a very extensive library, Konaseus. I hope you don't mind me poking around in it."

"Not at all, Dr. Jackson, not at all," Konaseus declared delightedly. They had after all believed his apologies enough to split the group up. Perhaps they would be willing to overlook the whole thing. "Please forgive my lack of manners, but I'm surprised that you can read any of my books."

"Well, actually, I can't," Daniel confessed. "I was sort of hoping that you might have some sort of computer program for translating them." Daniel was finding himself hard pressed not to cross his fingers. All those books, all that potential knowledge, and not being able to read a single word rankled.

Konaseus was a little crestfallen. How could you amaze and delight someone with a device the existence of which they had already deduced? But he put on a brave face. At least he would appear to be cooperative and forthcoming. "And I had hoped to impress you with my erudition," he answered a little ruefully. "There is indeed a translator within the very walls of the library. If you like, I shall meet you there on the morrow and instruct you in its use." His brows drew together and he frowned a moment. "Have you any languages at your command save your own? If not, I may have to take some little time to program yours in."

"He does speak and read Goa'uld," Jack chipped in. He'd bet money that was a language the machine was already programmed for.

"Most excellent," Konaseus said approvingly. "I can also explain my personal system of categorizing, so that Dr. Jackson need not waste his time on subjects in which he has no interest."

"That would be most helpful," Daniel agreed. "Thank you."

"It is my pleasure to be of service to the queen's entourage." Konaseus leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers across his ample belly and beamed at them.

"Might one inquire how you occupy your days Konaseus?" The voice was low, barely audible at their host's end of the table, but Evree was determined to do what she could to help unravel the puzzle of Konaseus.

"You have but to name a thing, my queen," Konaseus vowed fervently. "And if it is within my poor power to provide it, it is yours."

"And yet, you have not managed to answer my question," commented Evree pointedly. She was beginning to become irritated with his fawning, obsequious manner, and it was making her a bit bolder.

Konaseus gave a mental nod. There was some of the character he expected from a Goa'uld. The queen had been far to pliant and retiring for it to be quite believable. "Indeed, my queen, I have not," he rejoined in contrite tones. "I have done nothing noteworthy, I assure you. Most of my time is consumed in keeping this place operating."

"I thought you said the robots did that," Sam broke in. "You said the robots did everything."

"But someone must attend to them," Konaseus replied patiently. "Today happened to be a day that I had scheduled some of the periodic maintenance which must be done. From here on after, I shall be more available, as a good host should be."

SG-1 viewed the news with mixed feelings. On one hand, if Konaseus was more accessible, they could better keep an eye on what he was up to. On the other hand, he would also be able to keep an eye on them as well. Not that they had done anything he had not sanctioned. At least, not yet. The way things were going, they didn't anticipate that state of affairs to continue indefinitely.

"But I forget myself," Konaseus went on. "It is most remiss of me to neglect to make mention of what an honor it is to share my table with two such entrancingly beautiful ladies." His eyes twinkled, and he divided his leers almost evenly between Evree and Sam.

"Where we come from, it's rude to stare," Jack broke in just as rudely. Not too diplomatic, or possibly even smart, but the guy was seriously getting on his nerves. And maybe showing him that they weren't going to lie down and take whatever he dished out would impress him more than being doormats.

"Indeed." The distinctly Goa'uld voice came from the far end of the table. Everyone's head swiveled to look at Evree. Most of the time, she only spoke in the resonant symbiote voice when under some sort of stress. Or, when she felt it was necessary to remind someone of who and what she was. She turned her face towards O'Neill, coincidentally away from Konaseus and made a dreadful grimace. It took Jack a minute or two to realize that she was trying to wink at him. She had but recently seen the expression, and had not yet trained her muscles to the gesture. "I for one do not care to be looked upon as the main course of your meal, Konaseus."

"My most humble apologies, my queen." The words came out of Konaseus' mouth so quickly that they seemed to tumble over each other. "I was so taken by your beauty and that of your attendant that I forgot myself. Please, forgive me."

"Do not allow it to happen again." Evree didn't actually come out and say that she forgave him, and point in fact, she didn't. "I have been most remiss with protocol of late, and now I see what comes of it."

"Yes," Jack added, playing along with her, and hoping that the others would catch on. Not that there should be a problem with that. "I'm afraid that we have taken advantage of your leniency. Please forgive us."

Evree gave him an indulgent look. It was carefully calculated. What she really wanted to do was to beam with approval, but that would spoil the game. And if Konaseus wanted to play games, he shouldn't have chosen to do so with a Goa'uld. "I shall overlook it this time," she replied magnanimously. "Should it happen again, however, I shall have to take steps."

"Then we shall have to make sure that you will not need to take those steps," Teal'c added. Subservience to Goa'uld had been bred into him, but his years of freedom had done much to change his nature. The only reason he could still play the game, was that it was just that, a game. A potentially serious game.

"And all this trouble caused because of me," Konaseus murmured. "If there is anything at all that I can do to make amends, my queen, you must allow me to do so."

Evree gave him a calculating look. A look that she said she knew exactly what he was up to (which she certainly didn't), and that it didn't bother her a bit. A look that said that he was scarcely worth noticing. A look that had been honed with decades of use. "I shall let you know," she replied, in the self-same tones as someone saying that they will call you back when you know there isn't a chance they will do so. She glanced up and down the table and saw that everyone had pretty much finished eating. All to the good. Because what the performance really needed to be perfect, was a grand exit. "I find that I am fatigued. I think we shall retire now." She hoped that O'Neill and his team had had no plans for the rest of the evening, because if they had, she had just ruined them. Or, they would have to carry them out and ruin the illusion that she was running the show?

"If I may?" O'Neill was immediately standing at her side, pulling back her chair and offering her his arm.

Evree took his arm and made her grand exit, with the others all following in her wake, leaving Konaseus to stare after them.

&&&&&&

Konaseus sat in quiet reflection for some time after his guests left him. He was unsure as to what game the little Goa'uld queen was playing, but had pleased him no end when she had finally shed the subordinate facade she had presented so far. He was not so pleased about the fact that she had berated him, though. He fully intended them to rule side by side, both of them gods, but she would remember that first and foremost, her place at his side would be one step lower than him. She would be taught to remember.

&&&&&

The entire group made the trip to their room just as they had left the dining hall. Quiet, sedate, and giving deference to Evree. Things changed once the door shut behind them.

Evree immediately pulled back from O'Neill, her expression wary. True, they had backed her play, but she had acted on her own, without orders. A show of solidarity in front of Konaseus didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't in for a dressing down now. But when she actually dared to look up at O'Neill, the only word that could be used to describe his expression was.., smug.

"She's not just a pretty face, is she?" he commented.

"She sure isn't," Daniel agreed.

"No more than Major Carter is," Teal'c added approvingly.

Evree looked from one of them to another in growing confusion. "I know that I acted precipatately," she admitted. "But there was no time in which to consult you, O'Neill. Are you saying that I actually..,"

Jack came up off the wall he'd been leaning against. "You were fantastic," he crowed, catching her by the waist and spinning around with her. As he set her down, Evree, dizzied by the maneuver, though she had enjoyed it very much, clutched at O'Neill for support. He didn't seem to mind.

"It really should have occurred to us from the first," Sam mused. "He obviously knows at least something about Goa'uld, but Evree wasn't acting like a typical Goa'uld."

"If his exterior sensors hadn't confirmed that she was one, he probably wouldn't have believed it," Daniel put in.

"He may drop his guard now that Evree is behaving in a manner commensurate with his expectations." Teal'c paused and thought. "But I still believe that he could prove to be quite dangerous."

"So do I." O'Neill was all business again. He looked down at Evree. "Are you still carrying that bracelet?"

Evree fished around in the folds of her garment for a few moments before producing the device in question. "You said that I was to have it with me at all times, O'Neill," she answered soberly. "I have not disobeyed you."

Jack gave her a quick squeeze. "That's my girl. You keep that thing handy. The nicer Konaseus gets, the less I trust him."

"Do you really believe that I may have to use it on him?" Evree looked far from happy, but she didn't sound like she was brewing up an argument.

"If he gets out of line at all, or looks ready to threaten any of us in the slightest," O'Neill instructed. "You whip that out and let him have it. Shoot first and ask questions later."

"But if he is dead, how will he be able to answer questions?" Evree wondered.

"Who said anything about answering them?" O'Neill was caught unawares by a yawn. It had been a longer day than it had seemed. "T, you're first watch tonight. Everyone else, let's get some shut-eye."

&&&&&&

Evree was curled in a ball in a nest of pillows when a hand nudged her shoulder, then shook her gently. She snuggled down further into her nest.

"Up and at 'em kid." Jack bent down to whisper in her ear. The others still had a few minutes left, and he was going to try to let them have those few minutes. "Or do you want to be left here again today while I go to report in?"

Evree was sitting bolt upright on the instant. "I may go with you today?" The thought of putting a couple of miles between herself and Konaseus even if but for a few brief hours was an incredibly seductive proposition.

"If you get your cute little ass moving," O'Neill whispered, grinning. "That's why I'm getting you up early. I know how long it takes you to brush your hair. And no pretty clothes today. We're going to be tramping through the woods again."

"I know that, O'Neill." Evree slipped into the bathing chamber to change, and in an amazingly short time, for her, emerged again. Just as the others were waking.

"What's on the agenda for today?" Daniel yawned. "Excuse me."

"Evree and I are going to do the daily report," O'Neill stated. "So the rest of you keep on your toes and keep your weapons handy, in case Konaseus' kitty gets out again. Evree isn't going to be here to pull your chestnuts out of the fire."

"Will Evree be able to keep pace with you to report in on time?" Teal'c inquired. "She is not as used to the exercise as the rest of us."

"That's why we're not staying to breakfast," Jack explained. "We'll just grab a few pieces of fruit to eat on the trail. After all, if Evree is running the show, then who would the big cheese back home want to talk to?"

"It does make sense," Sam conceded. "I just hope you guys don't take too long. I think Konaseus might be a little unhappy if he took the notion into his head that Evree wasn't coming back."

"Then I guess that we'd better shake a leg, hadn't we?" O'Neill remarked. He looked over at his traveling companion. "C'mon, Evree. You look fine. You really don't have to impress the squirrels."

&&&&&

"What is the real reason that you have allowed me to accompany you today, O'Neill?" Evree inquired a little breathlessly. Jack had been pushing the pace about as fast as she could keep up.

"Getting tired of my company?" O'Neill arched an eyebrow at her as he stopped to help her over a fallen tree trunk.

"You know that is not true." Evree spared the energy for a warm smile. She would be glad to get back to where things were familiar to her. Or at least, more familiar than this place. "But you have yet to answer my question."

"Going to make me stand in a corner if I don't?" O'Neill finally took pity on her and slackened the pace a little bit. "Don't bother to answer that, I was being a smartass. I brought you along with me today because I had the time. Or would you have rather stayed behind with Konaseus just aching for an excuse to get you alone?"

Evree shuddered. "I thank you, O'Neill," she replied. "I am not entirely sure of why, but Konaseus truly frightens me. I think I would rather die than to be left alone with him."

"The idea is to keep either one of those things from happening," Jack pointed out. "And besides, now I have you all to myself with no one around." He grinned at her.

Evree looked at him suspiciously. Surely he couldn't mean what she thought he meant. Could he? The only way to find out was to ask. "What are you suggesting?"

The grin broadened. "Planning our strategy, of course," he answered jauntily. "What did you think I meant?"

"I think that you meant to tease me, O'Neill," she said severely. "And were it not for the fact that I could not imagine my existence without you..,"

O'Neill laughed aloud, even though he wasn't sure that he was ready for that much of an emotional investment. "Okay, no more teasing. How do you think we should handle things from here on out? I mean, how would you do it if we really were working for you?"

&&&&&&

Konaseus' face as he entered the dining hall was a sight to behold as he vainly searched for any sign of Evree. "Where is the queen?" he demanded.

"She went with Colonel O'Neill to make the daily report," Sam explained. "They ought to be back in an hour or two."

"She will return then?" their host asked anxiously.

"She will," Teal'c replied. Konaseus' reaction added weight to the theory that none of them would be welcome here had it not been for Evree's presence. "But she is, as you must understand, a very important personage. Stargate Command will no doubt wish to speak to her personally, to verify her well-being."

"Of course, of course," Konaseus muttered. He seemed to have been overcome by an attack of the fidgets. "If you have finished, Dr. Jackson, I shall be happy to instruct you on the use of the translator now."

Actually, Daniel had only finished about half of his breakfast, but with the state that Konaseus was in, he thought it probably wouldn't do to push the big man any farther. He hastily wiped his mouth and stood. "I'm ready," he announced. And found himself having to nearly run to keep up as Konaseus left the room at a brisk pace.

"Most interesting," Teal'c murmured, once he and Sam had been left to their own devices.

"Well, it definitely settles one thing," Sam observed. "If Evree goes, we'd all better go. As upset as he got over her being gone, I hate to think how he would have reacted if we'd had to tell him that she wasn't coming back."

"I think we might have a difficult time surviving his displeasure in that event," Teal'c remarked. "There is nothing further that I can learn by wandering the corridors today, Major. I believe that I will join you until O'Neill and Evree return."

"Well, I can't say I won't appreciate the company," Sam commented, pushing back her chair. "After I sent you off yesterday, I kept feeling the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. I felt sure that any moment that big cat was going to sneak up on me."

"I am beginning to think that that would be a more welcome prospect than having Konaseus sneak up on you," Teal'c mused.

Sam recalled the way that Konaseus had looked at her and Evree the night before. "I think you might be right."

&&&&&

"Are you sure that you can handle this, Evree?" General Hammond inquired. "If you don't think you can, I'll just recall the whole team. I don't like the sound of this Konaseus character."

"And you haven't even met him in person, sir," Jack drawled.

"I don't have to," Hammond remarked. "I saw Evree hijack the gate to turn herself over to Anubis without batting an eyelash. Someone that unsettles her as much as Konaseus does can't be up to anything good."

"O'Neill and Teal'c will see that I come to no harm," Evree said as bravely as she could manage. How she would like nothing better than to step through the chaapa'ai to safety. But she owed these people more than she could ever repay. And if having Konaseus leer at her was the price required, then it was little enough.

"Jack, I hope that I don't have to tell you that if Konaseus starts getting too familiar..," Hammond reflected that O'Neill was probably the last person he had to tell that.

"Then we're out of here," O'Neill finished. "But until he does, if he does, well, Carter seems to think there's something to be learned from those robots. And Daniel has a whole new library to play in."

The gate opened, and a couple of bundles came sailing through before it shut again.

"There are the supplies that you asked for," the general finished the exchange. "All of you be careful. And we'll talk again tomorrow."

"Roger that," O'Neill replied. He picked up the larger of the two packs and looked at Evree. "Do you think we could wait until we get within eyeshot of the place before I have to pretend that I'm your humble servant?"


	7. Factfinding

53

Fact-finding

"It is a simple enough thing," Konaseus muttered. He had seemed distracted since he had learned that Evree wasn't there. "You simply put the book under the scanner and tell the machine which language you wish it translated into. The translation will appear on the screen."

"Do I need to go through this every time I turn a page?" Daniel thought it would prove a little awkward if he thought he was on the track of something and flipped back and forth through the pages confirming it.

"Not at all, sir." Konaseus fought to keep the impatience out of his voice. He had been most distressed to find that his queen was no longer within his walls, and the niggling suspicion that she might not return was making him irritable. "Merely tell the translator which page you want to view. Most of my books are already stored in its memory."

Daniel looked at the device skeptically. The framework to allow a book to be placed within was the bulkiest part of the device. He certainly didn't see any part of it that was spacious enough, in his experience, to have the memory to store the information from hundreds of books, let alone all the languages it was supposed to be programmed for. "Is this hooked into some computer mainframe elsewhere?" he inquired. From what it looked like, the operating system was no larger than his doubled up fists put side by side.

"No," Konaseus answered shortly. "The unit is self-contained." His impatience was beginning to show. "Were there any more questions, Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel realized that Konaseus was almost at the breaking point, but there was one more question he just had to ask. "How do you turn it on?"

&&&&&

"I know you have to dress to impress," Jack sighed. "But all your jewelry?" When she had stumbled on them begging for asylum, she'd been wearing enough, in his opinion, to stock a small store.

"This isn't all of it," Evree corrected him, adjusting a dangling earring. "Only what I was wearing when you found me. I had many times as much sitting in the coffers." She turned away from the mirror. "How do I look?"

"Overdone," O'Neill replied bluntly. Evree hadn't worn her jewelry since she'd taken it off at SGC, and now, combined with the fancy garb, she seemed more alien.

Evree pouted slightly. "I was trying for impressive," she grumbled. "You do not like it?"

O'Neill realized he'd stepped in it again. "I think you're pretty impressive without all the fancy doo-dads," he declared. "I'm just not used to it. But it might do to make Konaseus' eyes stand out on stalks. That's what you were aiming for, wasn't it?"

Evree's face had lit up, and she missed the question entirely. "You think I am impressive?"

&&&&&

"Is it just me, or should Colonel O'Neill and Evree have gotten back by now?" If there had been a clock on the wall, Sam would have been watching it.

"Perhaps they were delayed," Teal'c offered, remembering how difficult Evree, with her short legs, had found it to keep up with them. "Or perhaps..," His head shot up from the page of notes he was making in Evree's stead, and looked towards the doorway. "They are here."

O'Neill, clean, freshly shaved and in a clean uniform, and Evree, in a dazzling array of silks, satins and several pounds of jewels entered.

"Are you going to a party?" Sam asked. "And are we invited?"

"Just giving Konaseus what he expects," O'Neill explained. "Teal'c, you might want to go get cleaned up. We brought you a change of clothes too. Got to be all spruced up when you're part of the queen's honor guard."

"Laying it on thick, sir?" Sam viewed Evree with interest. The Goa'uld queen seemed more self-assured than she'd ever seen her. Almost like when she'd donned her jewelry, it was akin to putting on a suit of armor.

Teal'c seldom looked disheveled, unless he'd been in a prolonged fight, but he came back in a remarkably short time looking like he, along with his clothing, had been cleaned and pressed.

"I'm surprised you didn't suggest dress uniforms, sir," Carter commented.

"Well, we are in the field," O'Neill mumbled a little defensively. Hammond had suggested it, and Evree had been enthusiastically for it. He'd had to do some fast talking to convince them that it would be over the top. Leave the extra frills for Evree, since she was obviously the focus of attention.

"What exactly is my part in the plan, sir?" Sam felt she had a pretty good idea, but a little confirmation never hurt.

"What you're doing now, Carter," O'Neill replied. He looked at Teal'c and Evree. "Why don't we go find Konaseus before he has a nervous breakdown?"

&&&&&

Konaseus was pacing in a room near the center of his citadel. He had refrained from monitoring the door against the queen's return. That way lay madness. But this was very little improvement. He was startled to see a servitor enter the room. He had not summoned it, and was about to make comment when..,

In floated Evree, trailing swaths of saffron satin, glittering with gold and gems. She also had trailing behind her O'Neill and Teal'c, quiet and precise, the perfect palace guards.

"My regrets for not informing you that I would be away, " said Evree in a voice that contained not the slightest hint of regret. "But I do assure you that it was entirely necessary."

"I understand completely." Konaseus was too relieved to be irritated. His queen had returned. All was not lost. "Might I have the honor of giving you a tour of my humble abode?"

"Yes, please." Evree flashed him a smile, and Konaseus, who was generally quite observant, missed the fact that the smile did not reach her eyes. "I should have suggested it myself, but things have been in such.., disarray." She made a languid gesture that caused bracelets to clink together and bared a portion of one slender arm.

O'Neill forced himself to watch the performance in silence. It wasn't as bad as he might have thought, because Evree like this, didn't seem like the person he knew. But he noticed the way the big man's pupils dilated when Evree showed that little bit of skin. He'd better have a word with her about taking care as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Konaseus eyed the 'honor guard'. He did not bother inquiring as to their necessity. But it galled him that they were there. They were a hindrance to his plans. "Is there anything in particular you wish to see, or shall we go through the entire complex?"

"All of it." Evree made another gesture, and noted, as O'Neill had, the effect it had on Konaseus. "I would request, however that you go slowly." She looked up at him, then fanned luxuriant eyelashes over delicate cheekbones. "Your legs are much longer than mine."

"Of course, my queen." Konaseus bowed. Then, he offered her his arm as he had seen O'Neill do, and even though it made her skin crawl, Evree reached up and tucked her hand in the crook of his arm.

&&&&&&&

Daniel slid another book back into its place on the shelf. So far, he hadn't found a single thing that made all this trouble worth the while. Every book he had looked at so far had to do with one Goa'uld or another taking over this or that planet. And, how they had done it, though that was scarcely a revelation. Most of the time they just moved in, said, 'I'm taking over', and killed off anyone who objected. And yet this was the section Konaseus had directed him to, and he was nearly through it. Or was he being incredibly naive, taking Konaseus' word that this section contained what he was looking for? On a whim, Daniel pulled a book from one of the shelves that Konaseus had designated 'fiction'. He put the book in the scanner.

And the screen lit up with the technical schematics for a set of transport rings.

&&&&&&

Evree felt like her face was going to crack from the strain of keeping an insincere smile plastered on it. And she had had to remind Konaseus to slow down so many times that she was seriously beginning to entertain the idea of just kicking him in the ankle the next time he started stretching those long legs of his. She was becoming so obviously bored of seeing one lavishly decorated room after the other that she had acceded to Konaseus' suggestion that they break up the tour with a visit to his roof garden. She strongly suspected that these were not the circumstances he had in mind when he'd initially made the invitation, but this was as good as he was going to get.

Evree's guard had dropped back a few more paces. Not many, there was still less than ten feet between them. But they could converse without shattering the illusion if they kept it low.

"Do you hear that noise, O'Neill?" Teal'c inquired softly. He stopped and listened intently for a moment. "It is gone again. But I have heard it on and off for over an hour."

"What kind of noise?" Jack murmured, not taking his eyes off the pair in front of them.

"It was a grinding sound," the Jaffa replied. "I am surprised you have not heard it. Each time that I have, it has come from your direction."

"Really?" O'Neill was pretty sure now what his friend was hearing, but didn't feel like enlightening him. He kept his eyes pointed straight ahead, and saw Konaseus laugh at something Evree had said and pat the fingers trapped in the crook of his arm.

"There it is again," Teal'c remarked. "Are you certain you do not..?" He broke off and glanced at O'Neill and saw the tension in his jaw, and his expression became one of understanding. "Ah, I see. You do not like him making physical contact with Evree, is that it?"

"I don't like him breathing the same air that she does," Jack grated out in a low growl.

Further conversation was halted as a delighted gasp from Evree took their attention, and they looked to see what had prompted the reaction.

They had made their way to the center of the garden, and dead center was a flowering tree. The blossoms were off-white with deep mauve centers, and they were easily the size of a dinner plate.

"It's lovely." Evree had stopped in her tracks, just taking in the sight. She sniffed the air. "Have they no fragrance?" she asked in disappointed tones. She felt that blooms that beautiful should smell as wonderful as they looked.

Konaseus nodded. "They do," he informed her. "But the aroma is very subtle, and does not carry far. You have to be quite close to smell them." He let the information sink in before adding, "It is well worth the effort."

Evree looked at the tree in dismay. The lowest branches were still over Konaseus' head. "What a pity," she murmured, beginning to turn away. She really would have liked to smell those flowers.

"There is no reason why you should not be able to enjoy the flowers' fragrance," Konaseus declared. And before anyone knew quite what he was up to, his big hands had encircled Evree's waist, and he lifted her up to the level of the nearest blooms.

Evree let out a startled and somewhat indignant squeak at the unexpected manhandling. O'Neill's hand went almost automatically to his weapon. He didn't even realize it until Teal'c laid a restraining hand on his.

Evree did not like the helpless feeling she got from being so far off the ground and having to trust Konaseus to get her back down safely. But since she was up here, she might as well take advantage of the opportunity. She gently cupped the closest blossom in her hands, brought it near her face and inhaled deeply.

It smelled heavenly. "May I pick one?" Evree asked politely, forgetting the Goa'uld hauteur for the moment. But Konaseus obviously took great pride in his garden, and she would no more think of plucking one of his prized flowers without permission than she would of meddling with a piece of machinery that she had no notion of how to operate. It just didn't sit right.

"Every bloom on the tree if you so desire, my queen," Konaseus replied, over the top as was his wont.

"One will do, thank you." The words were gracious, but the attitude was back in place. Hopefully Konaseus hadn't noticed the slip. She grasped the flowers' stem with both hands. It was fairly thick, and she assumed it would take her some effort to break it. She gave a mighty tug and the stem snapped easily, but only after it was too late for Evree to check her momentum. She felt herself begin to fall, the caught up again in strong arms, cradled like a baby.

&&&&&&

"Sam."

The person so addressed jumped visibly. She hadn't been expecting anyone, and she had been pretty wrapped up in what she was doing. "Daniel. I thought you were busy in the library."

"I thought you might want to see some of this." By luck and fiddling around, Daniel had found a button on the translator that would give him a copy of the page being currently displayed. Konaseus hadn't seen fit to mention that little option. He put one of the pages in front of Sam now. "What do you make of that?"

Sam stared at the diagram intently for a long moment, then she looked up, awestruck. "Daniel, this looks like the schematics for a sarcophagus."

"I thought so too," Daniel remarked. "Until I started reading the text that went along with it. It is a sarcophagus, but Konaseus has evidently made some modifications."

"What sort of modifications?" Carters' eyes were back on the page in front of her.

"Well, according to Konaseus' notes," Daniel began. "He may have found a way to get rid of the psychological side effects, not to mention improving the healing process itself. You could use that maybe once a week and live a very, very long time."

"How long?" Sam felt a tingle of excitement. This could make the whole trip worth while and then some.

"I'm not sure," Daniel confessed. "But Konaseus is very methodical, he dates his notes. And if I've figured out his system correctly, these notes are over fifteen hundred years old."

&&&&&&&

"I meant no impropriety." Konaseus wasn't sure who was glaring at him more fiercely, Evree or O'Neill. "But if I had not done as I did, she would have fallen." For some reason, he felt moved to make his explanation to the queens' guard rather than the queen. It was easier for him to keep up the subservient act now that he had accomplished something he had been trying to do nearly from the first. To get Evree to inhale the scent from his genetically engineered blooms.

"Yeah, sure, we understand." O'Neill was fighting to get it back together. But it was a struggle. He didn't know what had been worse, seeing Evree about to fall, or seeing her in Konaseus' arms. Either way, he didn't like it. But he was still trying to make nice, so smile and suck it up.

Konaseus turned to Evree, and went as far as to drop to one knee. "Will you forgive me, my queen?"

Evree's eyes were still blazing. "It would not have been necessary for you to ask for my forgiveness had you not laid hands on me without asking my leave." She was far from mollified, and it showed.

Konaseus bowed his head, giving every appearance of complete contrition. "My most humble and heart-felt apologies, my queen," he murmured in tones silken and soothing. "But you so very obviously wanted to smell the flowers, and I wished only to please you. In my eagerness to do so, I forgot myself. I beg your forgiveness." Konaseus hated the display of abject humility, but soon enough, he would be calling the tune that the little queen danced to.

Evree dithered for a few seconds, and then, since Konaseus wasn't watching, glanced at O'Neill for guidance. O'Neill made a gesture which she interpreted to mean that she should cease the show of temper. It seemed the wiser course of action, since if she failed to be placated soon, she would have to kill Konaseus or prove that she was not the Goa'uld that he thought her to be.

"In future, you will request my permission before laying hands on me." Nothing said about absolution, but it did let Konaseus know that he was going to be allowed to live a while longer at least.

Konaseus lifted his head to look at her, making sure that he made eye contact. Their gazes locked for a long moment.

Evree blinked, feeling a little dizzy and disoriented, as if a very high fever had just broken. She looked at the figure kneeling before her, and somehow, it just didn't seem right, that such a proud creature should be bowed down before her. "I forgive you, Konaseus." She knew that she had not intended to pardon him, but somehow, she had felt compelled to.

At last, Konaseus rose to his feet, slowly, almost majestically. "I am honored by your most gracious exoneration," he said formally. "Would you care to continue your tour? Or perhaps you feel fatigued and would like to rest." The conflicting suggestions were a test. The chemicals that she had inhaled should, amongst other things, be making her more suggestible, and giving her a choice should confuse her. Not too badly, at this early stage, but noticeably.

Evree thought furiously. Or tried to. A simple enough decision to make, surely, so why couldn't she decide? She was nearly ready to wring her hands in frustration. Only the realization that she still held her hard-won flower halted her. She inhaled its divine aroma once more, and in some inexplicable way, it seemed to help make choosing easier. She would cut the tour short today. For now, she wanted to get her precious bloom into some water so she could enjoy it as long as possible.

"Truly, there has been so much to take in," Evree said thoughtfully. "Perhaps it would be best if we were to continue tomorrow." Her eyes flicked toward O'Neill, as though asking him if she had made the correct decision. Odd, the responsibility for making choices had never seemed to be particularly onerous before.

Jack gave a quick, jerking nod of his head, but wondered just what Evree was up to now. The two of them had discussed things pretty thoroughly on their morning hike, and now she was ad-libbing. He'd have to wait until they were well and truly alone to ask her about it.

Teal'c didn't know the specifics of the plan, there hadn't been time to fill him in. They'd just trusted him to play along, and he had. But he had known O'Neill long enough to be able to read his expressions fairly accurately, and Evree must have done something to deviate from the plan. Until he knew the whole of the situation, however, he could only do what he had been doing, which was backing up whatever O'Neill and Evree did. But something was not right, and he would be willing to wager that somehow, Konaseus was at the bottom of it.

Konaseus merely smiled, bowed, and left them.

&&&&&&

Rather than continue to ask Daniel questions that he couldn't give her the answers to off the top of his head, Sam had joined him in the library. And was finding it to be a treasure trove, if a curious one.

"It's all here," she muttered. "Sarcophagi, death gliders, zats, staff weapons, rings, just about every single piece of technology that the Goa'uld use on a regular basis. Except for one."

"Not even so much as a mention of a stargate," Daniel finished the thought. "It's a pretty serious omission. I wonder why it isn't here."

"Maybe it is," Sam suggested. She waved a hand at the walls full of books. "Maybe you just haven't found the right book."

"Maybe," Daniel admitted grudgingly. "But if Konaseus is engineer enough to make some of the improvements we've seen on some of the other gadgets, what could he have done to the stargate?"

They both fell silent in contemplation of the awful possibilities.


	8. How Does Your Garden Grow?

61

How Does Your Garden Grow?

When they had entered their room, Jack and Teal'c watched in amazement as Evree calmly went about the business of putting her flower in water, completely unaware, or uncaring, that she was the object of some consternation.

Finally, seeing that Evree wasn't going to volunteer anything, O'Neill spoke up.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" He fought to keep the annoyance out of his voice, but it was a struggle. But if it turned out that she'd interrupted their plans just for that damned flower, there was going to be a shouting match.

"What?" Evree seemed to be surprised by the question, and had to do some mental gymnastics to figure out what O'Neill was getting at. "Oh. Konaseus was right. I am tired." She gave O'Neill a stern, if still affectionate look. "You made me walk very fast this morning. And, I had to carry things back. Surely seeing the rest of the empty rooms in this place can wait another day."

"The idea," Jack said, with forced patience. "Was to try to see the whole place. And ask Konaseus about any parts he wouldn't show us in your presence, since he might be just a teensy bit more honest with you than the rest of us. And today would have been nice. The longer this takes, the longer you're stuck here, staying under the same roof as Konaseus."

"He really does have very nice eyes," Evree mused. "And he has been most kind to us. I think we may have been doing him a disservice, O'Neill, being so mistrusting."

At that pronouncement, O'Neill's jaw nearly hit the floor. This was coming from the woman who said she would rather die than be left alone with Konaseus? He looked at Teal'c and saw concern on the Jaffa's face, confirming that he wasn't just imagining things. Something was wrong here. Very, very wrong. And Evree herself was blissfully unaware of the fact. Time for a serious conference. Minus Evree.

"If you're so tired," Jack said carefully. "Why don't you take a little nap? We'll get along without you for a couple of hours."

"That is very considerate of you, O'Neill." Evree delicately tried to hide a very indelicate yawn. "I do believe that a nap would be most welcome."

And without further ado, she curled up where she had slept the night before and promptly fell asleep.

Jack nodded towards the door, and Teal'c followed him to stand just outside.

"This is damn strange," O'Neill remarked, the moment the door had closed behind him. "Evree is, or was, terrified of Konaseus. And now she's sticking up for the creep?"

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "Her behavior is most atypical. Am I correct in assuming that you believe that Konaseus has tampered with her in some way?"

"I don't just believe it," Jack growled. "I know it. Some way, somehow, he's gotten to her. I just can't figure out how or when."

"Nor can I," the Jaffa admitted. "She has never been where one of us could not observe her until this very moment. But I also, do not believe that this sudden change of heart came about naturally."

"We need to let Carter and Daniel in on this," O'Neill mused. He looked at the closed door. Whatever Konaseus had in mind for Evree was obviously already in motion, but since he didn't know what the big man's ultimate plan was, he still didn't want Evree left unprotected.

Teal'c saw O'Neill mulling over the situation and rightly guessed what was on his mind. "You already know what I think, O'Neill," he pointed out gently. "Go speak to Major Carter and Daniel Jackson. I shall remain here and guard Evree."

"Thank you." O'Neill looked immensely relieved. "Look, I don't think it's that serious yet, but if things look like they're getting too out of hand, don't wait for us. Get Evree to the gate and back to Earth as soon as possible."

"I understand." Teal'c planted himself directly in front of the door and folded his arms across his chest, looking as though he dared anyone to try to get by him.

Feeling in a slightly better frame of mind, O'Neill set out to find the rest of the team.

&&&&&&

Konaseus monitored them all most carefully. As was his custom, he did not listen, but he watched. Watched as Evree was left alone, sleeping. True, the Jaffa guarded the door, but he was not physically present in the same room as the slumbering queen. It meant that he would be able to accelerate things. Konaseus' fingers deftly flicked a few buttons, and a small vent opened in the wall near to where Evree slept. Another button, and a faint mist could be seen emerging from the vent. A very concentrated dose of the chemical Evree had inhaled from the flower. Not in and of itself particularly dangerous, it just made her extremely suggestible and well-disposed to everyone, and the more of it she got in her system, the more these traits would come to the fore. Her companions might notice, especially the way she would begin to thaw towards him. But he doubted they would guess how open to suggestion she was until he had already made use of it.

He looked in the monitor again and saw Evree turn restlessly in her sleep. He frowned. She should be more deeply unconscious than that. Perhaps as a queen she had a higher tolerance to the drug. He gave her another carefully controlled dose, then smiled. She was tied firmly to him now, no matter what the Tau'ri said or did. By giving her the drug in its nearly pure form, he had also addicted her to it, and even without its mellowing effects on her personality, he was sure that she would do or say whatever he wished just so long as he fed her addiction.

&&&&&&

As O'Neill started down the next corridor, one of those pain in the butt robots showed up. He knew the route to the workshop where they'd left Carter, but he had also come to realize that the little mechanoid would be under foot until he gave it an order. "Take me to Major Carter," he commanded. With all the bells and whistles in the place, he was pretty certain that the machines had all been given some kind of recognition code for each member of the party.

The little machine obediently hummed away, but after a few turns, O'Neill realized that the place the robot was taking him was not the workshop where Carter had been working. He wondered if Sam had moved, although he found that difficult to fathom when she had a new toy to play with, or if it was another of Konaseus' little games. Intrigued, he continued to follow the machine. But he kept his ears and eyes wide open, just in case it was some kind of trap and Evree wasn't the only one that Konaseus had plans for.

As soon as he went in the door that the mechanoid stopped in front of, and heard the voices, he knew that the 'bot hadn't been leading him astray. Carter had joined Daniel in the library. Well, it would save him a few steps. And he wouldn't have to repeat himself since he could fill them both in at once.

Daniel just happened to glance up and see him enter. "Jack, I'm glad you're here. We've got a lot of stuff to play show and tell with."

"Later," O'Neill said. Wouldn't you just know it. Finally find something good, and from the enthusiasm in Daniel's voice it was good, but suddenly it wasn't the priority it had been.

"But, sir, this is an incredible find," Sam protested. Then, she looked at the expression on his face. "What's happened?"

"Konaseus has managed to do something to Evree," O'Neill stated bluntly. "I don't know how he managed it, Teal'c and I were keeping an eye on her the entire time. But suddenly she starts changing our plans and defending Konaseus."

"But she's afraid of Konaseus," Daniel pointed out. "Why would she be defending him?"

"Is there any way he could have drugged her?" Carter didn't waste time with questions that they didn't really have any answers to yet.

"I don't see how," O'Neill replied. "She hasn't had anything to eat or drink since we left this morning. Unless it's something very slow acting."

"If it were that, then we'd all be showing the effects," Daniel remarked. "It had to be something that only Evree was exposed to. But how?"

"Drugs don't necessarily have to be ingested," Sam said pointedly. "And I think we can rule out any sort of injection. Evree would have noticed and said something. What about inhalation?"

O'Neill's expression was a sight as he realized how Konaseus had put one over on them. "Could it be delivered through smelling a flower?"

"Sure," Carter answered. "A lot of drugs have botanical bases. And some of them don't even have to be processed in any way. I'd like to get a sample of that flower back to the lab for analysis."

"That stupid flower seems to be her prize possession at the moment," Jack mused. "I don't think you'd be able to get it away from her. She's not particularly rational at the moment. Or, at least, less rational than usual."

"What about the plant where she got the flower?" Sam suggested. "Did it have more than one open bloom?"

"Oh, only hundreds," O'Neill answered. "There's a tree in the middle of Konaseus' roof garden. Covered with blooms. But if just one has done that to Evree..,"

"But you and Teal'c were there with her," Daniel said. "And I can't see that it's had any effect on you. I'm assuming that you'd have mentioned it if Teal'c was acting strangely too."

"It didn't seem to bother either of us," O'Neill muttered. "But then, we didn't have our faces buried in the thing. Do you think it requires that close contact?"

"Maybe," Sam murmured. "But the only way to be sure is to get a sample and thoroughly analyze it. And Konaseus probably isn't going to be as likely to let me pick his flowers as he was Evree."

"Then again, he might," Daniel put in. "He was leering at you almost as much as he was at Evree at dinner last night."

"We'll see," O'Neill said, putting the plan on hold before it was put into words. "It does explain why Konaseus was so eager to get Evree up to his garden. And why he made sure that she got a chance to smell a flower that she couldn't even reach."

"I'm assuming that you've left Teal'c to guard her?" Sam inquired. "She really shouldn't be left alone for a moment, now more so than ever, until we understand the full effects of whatever he's used to drug her."

"She was taking a nap when I left," Jack informed them. "That was weird too. She just laid down and was out almost the second her head hit the pillow. I don't think I've ever seen anyone fall asleep that fast."

"It might have something to do with the effects of the drug," Sam commented. "Sir, maybe we won't have to ask Konaseus for permission. Except for that one wing that Teal'c couldn't get into, there hasn't been anywhere in the place those robots wouldn't guide us to. Why don't I just go up to the garden and get one? I could take it to the gate and have it at the lab and still be back before dinner time."

"You wouldn't be able to reach it, Carter," O'Neill stated. "Konaseus lifted Evree at his full arm's length so that she could reach the lowest one. I know you're taller than she is, but not by that much. And I'm not too sure I want you actually touching one until we know exactly what it's doing to Evree."

"If I can get up there, sir, I know I can get a sample and get it safely," Carter argued respectfully. "If whatever kind of chemical is in those flowers is dangerous, then Evree's life could depend on how quickly we can analyze it."

"How do you plan to get it?" Jack inquired. He wasn't about to okay the plan unless he knew that the danger to Sam was minimal, even with the possible danger to Evree.

"Konaseus has robots designed for all kinds of specific chores," Sam replied. "I'm sure he must have some specifically for working in the garden. Even ones tall enough to reach those blossoms, since they'd have to be able to trim the plants, no matter what size. I just find one and have it pick a flower for me. I'll put it in plastic the instant I get it. I'll never actually have physical contact with it, and I won't go sniffing it either."

"What if you don't find the right kind of robot?" Jack asked. The plan was sounding good as far as it went, he was just afraid that it might not go far enough. He also realized that he was breaking out in a cold sweat of fear for Evree.

"Then I'll come right back and we'll work out a different plan," she promised. "Let me try, sir. Evree might not have time for us to come up with something better."

"Go," O'Neill agreed. "But if it looks like you're going to be in danger, cut and run, Carter." It cost him to say those words, but he said them anyway. He couldn't deliberately endanger one member of the team to save another. Even when that other was Evree.

"Yes, sir." Sam disappeared.

"I'm still not sure why he wants a Goa'uld queen," Daniel mused. "He has just about everything that every other Goa'uld has, and has even improved on just about all the technology they use. The only thing he doesn't have is..," He stopped, looking shocked. "He doesn't have a symbiote. But why would he want one? Doesn't he realize that the symbiote would have total control of him?"

"I don't think humility is on Konaseus' list of good qualities," Jack remarked. "He probably thinks he could control it. I still can't think why he'd want one though. To prolong his life?"

"I don't think so," Daniel responded. "He's made improvements on the sarcophagus that would make you nearly immortal with regular use. According to what I've been able to find out, he's over fifteen hundred years old. I'm not sure how many years over. Every reason I can think of why he might want to be a host, he could do himself, and without giving up control of his own body, with the technology he's improved on or developed. He's an engineering genius."

"I think I may have it." O'Neill looked thoughtful. "What do people on most of the planets the Goa'uld control think of them?"

"Well, they think that they're gods," Daniel replied automatically, then his expression became one of stunned incredulity. "You think? I mean, someone as intelligent and educated as Konaseus obviously is, do you think he could still believe that Goa'uld are gods?"

"It would explain everything," Jack said grimly. "Including why he wants Evree. He wants her to breed him a symbiote."

"Maybe even a very special symbiote," Daniel hypothesized. "If he really does know that much about the Goa'uld, he may want one with some very specific genetic details. One that would make him even more powerful than most Goa'uld."

"A god among gods," O'Neill commented. He sighed. "Why did I have to be right about him?"

&&&&&&

Teal'c opened the door a crack and peeked within. Evree still slept. She slumbered so soundly in fact, that she hadn't moved at all since the last time he'd looked in on her. He observed even more closely, until he could detect the slight movement of her chest from the effects of respiration. When he was assured that she was still alive, he carefully shut the door again and resumed his task. Watching and waiting.

&&&&&

Sam stepped out into the open air of the garden and gasped in awe. The place was beautiful, and she wouldn't mind taking a break up here. But she wasn't here to take it easy or sight see. And if that one flower had had that effect on Evree, then heaven only knew what sort of properties the other plants had. Best to just do what she came to do as quickly and unobtrusively as possible.

The servitor that had guided her here had come to a halt at the entrance to the garden. Evidently the mechanoids were extremely literal in obeying orders. She had told it to take her to the gardens, and it had done just that, nothing more, nothing less. Now, she needed to find one that worked among the greenery, and, more to the point, could reach the flowers that were seemingly the cause of their problems.

She wandered a bit, looking to see if she could spot a robot going about its tasks, but wasn't getting lucky on that score. She did find the tree, though, and could readily understand why Evree wanted to smell the flowers. They were beautiful. Entrancing, really. Surely something that beautiful couldn't be harmful. Sam gave herself a stern mental shake at the direction her thoughts were taking. Maybe even if she couldn't smell it from here, the tree sent out some sort of hypnotic scent to draw a victim closer. She'd have to be very careful.

Finally, Sam found what she was looking for. A robot that looked like it was a cross between Edward Scissorhands and a stepladder was pruning some shrubbery along the roofs' edge. "Cut me a bloom off of that tree," she ordered, and hoped that it didn't have orders forbidding it to do so.

It evidently didn't, for it immediately turned and moved towards the tree on caterpillar treads rather than wheels, and came to a halt in front of the tree and waited.

At first, Sam wondered what it was waiting for, why it just didn't finish obeying the command. Then, she decided that maybe it was waiting to see if there was one particular bloom she wanted out of many hundreds. "Just get the nearest one," she instructed it, and the machine complied, and turned to her, holding out the potentially dangerous.., flower. Somehow, it seemed to be a contradiction of terms.

Sam thought quickly. Back in the room, she had sterile plastic bags for collecting biological samples, and she'd fully intended to use one to transport the flower. But she hadn't detoured to the room to get one, and even if Jack hadn't given her an order to that effect, she didn't think she'd be wanting to touch it with her bare hands. Just in case. On a sudden inspiration, she dug her cap out of her pocket and held it out, upside down. "Put it in here," she demanded.

The mechanoid dropped the blossom into her hat and then whirred away, and went back to its pruning as though its routine had never been interrupted.

Holding her hat with its uncertain burden like they were both radioactive, Sam made her way to the room.

&&&&&&

Jack had brought a reluctant Daniel along with him back to the room. He felt that the treasure trove of knowledge aside, they needed a conference with all of them present. He didn't want to talk in front of Evree, since in her current condition she could conceivably blurt out everything to Konaseus, but he couldn't take a chance on leaving her alone, either. He figured they could be careful and talk around Evree, so to speak, so that she wouldn't understand what they were talking about. And if needs be, he didn't have the slightest compunction about lying to her. Not if her life was at stake.

Since Daniel had insisted on bringing along everything he had copied to date, they actually only beat Carter back to the room by mere minutes. For all the longer it had seemed to Sam, she really hadn't been up on the roof that long.

Sam went immediately to her pack and pulled out one of the specimen bags and put hat and all inside it. If the drug were airborne, then there wasn't any real risk in touching it, but until she knew for sure, better safe than sorry.

O'Neill snatched a silk wall hanging from its place and laid it flat. "Bring your paperwork here, Daniel," he instructed. "If something happens to us, then at least it won't have been for nothing."

As Daniel piled all his copies on the fabric and began tying it up, Evree suddenly sat bolt upright and let out an ear-piercing scream.

"Oh crap." O'Neill was across the room in an instant, pulling Evree into his arms. "It's all right now. I'm here to take care of you."

Evree struggled feebly for a moment, then, her already open eyes began to focus. "O'Neill? What are you doing?"

"You had a bad dream, hon," Jack replied, not even noticing the 'unprofessional' slip of the lip. "Don't you remember?"

Evree shook her head, but snuggled into his arms despite that. "I don't remember anything at all since I laid down here," she responded. "Are you sure that I had a nightmare?"

"You were screaming again." Jack held her close, stroked her hair. She might not remember the dream, but her body obviously did, she was shaking like a leaf. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Just you," Evree answered. "Why does Major Carter look like she is getting ready to leave?"

"Why indeed?" The voice came from the door, which with one thing and another, they hadn't heard open. "Forgive the intrusion, but I was nearby and I heard a scream and came to see that all was well." Konaseus stood squarely in the doorway now, looking like he wasn't about to budge until he got an answer.


	9. Issues

68

Issues

There was an awkward silence as everyone racked their brain for a plausible excuse. One that would satisfy not only Konaseus, but Evree as well, given her uncertain mental state.

"Home base wants a technical report," Jack lied calmly. "That's Carter's baby. I just didn't remember it until a little while ago."

Evree seemed to accept it as gospel since O'Neill had said it. Konaseus looked a bit suspicious, he couldn't imagine a professional military man forgetting 'little' details like the necessity of reporting to one's superiors. But if Evree believed it, then, for the time being, he would play along. Besides, there were more pressing matters commanding his attention.

"I see," he murmured thoughtfully. "But who screamed? And why? I had not thought there was anything particularly frightening here."

"O'Neill said that I had a bad dream," Evree replied. She was mildly surprised, but not at all displeased to find that he was still holding her.

"It must have been dreadful indeed to cause such a reaction," Konaseus observed sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do?"

"No, thank you," Evree answered, resting her head on O'Neill's chest. "I'm all right now."

"Very well." Konaseus tried to swallow the building rage. He had suspected that Evree and O'Neill were intimate, but this was the first time they had truly flaunted it in front of him. She was his queen. And once he had claimed her, he would crush O'Neill like an insect. "I will leave you to your business then. Major Carter, do you believe that you will be back in time to dine with us this evening?"

"I hope to be," Sam responded, all the while thinking that the longer he delayed her, the less likely it would be.

Konaseus gave them all a long, considering look before he turned and left. Not surprisingly, Evree had been the one he had scrutinized the longest.

Daniel counted to twenty, then stuck his head out the door. "All clear as far as I can see," he reported.

Sam double-checked to make sure she was all geared up to go, the picked up the silk-wrapped bundle. "I'm glad Konaseus didn't ask about this," she remarked. "That might have been a little awkward to explain."

"Most awkward," Teal'c agreed. He turned to look at O'Neill. "Do you wish me to accompany Major Carter?"

Jack considered. On one hand, Carter was well able to take care of herself. On the other, he didn't like the thought of any of them being left alone so far from help. "Probably a good idea," he conceded. "Carter, make sure they know that the paper isn't going anywhere, but the.., other thing is a rush job, top priority."

"Will do, sir," Sam replied. She looked at the figure still nestled against O'Neill. "Sir? Do you think..?"

"I think you'd better get your butts in gear," O'Neill said, cutting her off.

Teal'c relieved her of her bundle. "We shall make all speed, O'Neill," he assured Jack. He left the room precipitately enough that Carter didn't dare linger if she didn't want to have to run to catch up.

Jack let out a relieved sigh. Whether or not Konaseus had bought the lame-assed lie was irrelevant as long as he let Carter and Teal'c leave. Of course, it might have been different if he had known what they were taking with them. Now that particular worry was out of the way, his attention shifted to things nearer to hand.

"Are you sure that you're all right?" he asked Evree. "It usually doesn't take you this long to get over nightmares anymore. And besides, you said you couldn't remember it."

"I don't." Evree's voice was a little muffled, her face still being in his chest. "I've just missed being close to you like this."

"That's nice to hear." O'Neill gave her a squeeze and started gently prying her off him. "But this is a business trip."

"I know." Maybe he was being hypersensitive, knowing she was being drugged, but Evree seemed awfully pale to him. And she hadn't yet gotten over the shakes, no matter what she said about being all right.

"Are you absolutely sure you're all right?" Jack was half ready to tell Daniel to grab his stuff and run to catch up to the others. "You don't look so good."

"What a terribly gallant observation," Evree scolded gently. The sarcasm fell sort of flat, since she couldn't manage to get the bite into her words. Despite, or perhaps because of, her nap, she sounded tired. "And I do wish you would stop asking the same question over and over when I've already answered it."

"It's just because he worries about you," Daniel offered. "And he worries because he cares." Daniel was looking a bit worried himself. He didn't think Evree looked all that great either.

Evree beamed at both of them, a little weakly. "I appreciate the concern, and the motives that prompted it, gentlemen." She took a few careful steps. "See? Perfectly fine." She took a few more steps, and found herself near the flower that she had floating in a bowl of water. She put her face down to inhale deeply of its scent.

O'Neill and Daniel exchanged glances. They didn't like the idea of her smelling that flower until they knew what, if anything it was doing to her. But they didn't see how they could object without saying something that might, if Evree chose to tell Konaseus, tip their erstwhile host off. They'd just have to hold their peace and hope that all the damage that had been done was all that there was.

The instant that Evree raised her face from the flower, they knew that there was a worse. Pale, washed-out Evree was gone. Alert, bright-eyed Evree had taken her place with just one little sniff.

"Jack..," Daniel began unhappily.

"I know." O'Neill said tersely. He'd been around long enough to know the signs of addiction. Especially when those signs disappeared when the addiction was fed. And there was no way to give Carter the additional information to pass along. It would have to wait until his morning report. And tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to take Evree along, either.

Things had just gotten worse.

&&&&&

"We had to take off before I got a real chance to observe Evree's behavior," Sam remarked as she and Teal'c slogged through the woods. "Can you give me some specifics? It might help the lab people know what to look for if they know what the symptoms are."

Teal'c was silent for a few moments as he tried to recall events in their proper order. "Almost immediately after she was exposed, she seemed somewhat disoriented. Even more so when she was required to make a decision."

"So far, I'm not liking this," Sam broke in with a sigh. "Jack told us how she fell asleep almost instantaneously. That and the fact that she was defending Konaseus. Was there anything else?"

"That is all that I can remember," the big Jaffa replied. "But there may be more symptoms we have not had the opportunity to observe."

"True," Sam admitted ruefully. "But we really do need to get the lab started analyzing the flower. If it's not the source of whatever had gotten into Evree..,"

"Then we will find what has," Teal'c finished confidently.

"I just hope it's not toxic," Carter said worriedly. "Without a sarcophagus available, it could do more damage than she could handle. If it's really poisonous, then Draylea, and perhaps Evree as well could die."

"We are not going to let them die," Teal'c stated firmly. "No matter what it is, we will find a way to save Evree and her host."

&&&&&

"Shall I go back to the library, Jack?" Daniel queried nervously. He liked Evree, but there was something about the way she had been acting that was creeping him out. "There's still a lot of information to go through."

"And we'll try to get you back to it," O'Neill replied. "But right now, I don't know which way Evree is going to jump. I think I'd like to have some back up. Just in case."

"Yeah, I can understand that," Daniel murmured. "But she seems to be all right now."

"Until she needs her next fix," Jack said sourly. "Did you see how fast she perked up?"

"Which probably means that it's going to be that much quicker when she comes down again," Daniel reflected. Right now, Evree looked about as normal as it could get, sitting and brushing her disheveled hair. "If the addiction progresses that fast, this could be really bad."

"You're a master of understatement," Jack observed. "And now, we can't even cut and run. We can't take Evree away from the source of her addiction until we know how bad the withdrawal is going to be."

"Jack, why don't we just tell her that she's addicted?" Daniel inquired. "She's obviously unaware of the fact. But if she knew, she could fight it."

"Do you think that she'd believe us now that she's all sweetness and light about Konaseus?" O'Neill shot back. "'He's been kind to us'. 'We've done him a disservice, distrusting him'. 'He has nice eyes'." He went down the entire list.

Daniel faked a cough to hid a reflexive but inappropriate laugh. Jack's reaction to things might be a little bit funny, but the situation they were in was dead serious. "Maybe it's not just Konaseus," he suggested.

"Come again?" Daniel had lost him on this one.

"Well, I don't think there's any kind of drug that could endear just one particular person to the user," Daniel explained slowly. "And since I don't believe in such things as love spells, I'd say that if the drug makes her friendly towards Konaseus...,"

"Then it will make her friendly towards everybody," O'Neill finished. "We just didn't pick up on it right away because Konaseus is the only person here that she wasn't already friendly with to one degree or another."

"It sounds like a good, working hypothesis," Daniel conceded. "But we really don't have any way to test it."

"I'm not too worried about testing it as long as we can keep an eye on her," O'Neill muttered. "But if she's going to be this.., docile, it wouldn't be hard for Konaseus to persuade her to go off alone with him."

"And all we have as to why he wants her is theories," Daniel commented. "We don't have any solid facts."

"We have one," Jack said grimly. "We know it's nothing good, because if it were, he wouldn't have deliberately addicted her to that drug."

They looked over at Evree, who was once more bending her head down to sniff her flower.

&&&&&

"I wish I could analyze that flower myself," Sam sighed as she and Teal'c made their way back to Konaseus' citadel.

"We are doing all that we can," Teal'c responded. "You cannot do it all alone."

"I know," Sam replied. "But still..,"

"It is difficult not to be at the center of the activity when a friend is in danger," he finished. "But your place is here."

"I know," Sam repeated in resignation. "I suppose the big question now is, what does Konaseus want from Evree so badly that he'll drug it out of her?"

"I do not know," the Jaffa admitted. "But he must suspect that it is something that she will not give him willingly, or he would not find it necessary to drug her."

"I really hope that drug has no lingering aftereffects," Sam murmured worriedly.

"So do we all," Teal'c agreed.

&&&&&

General Hammond sat at his desk feeling utterly useless. He wouldn't go to the lab, not wanting to get in the way of people who had important work to do that only they could do. He had given a moment's consideration to scrapping the whole mission, but only for a moment. He'd known Jack O'Neill for years, and trusted his judgment. He'd like to believe that the situation wasn't all that serious, but when Samantha Carter only gave the briefest summary of technological advances because she was more concerned for someone's safety, then it was very serious. And he was worried for Evree for her own sake as much as for what she represented. He hadn't had the opportunity to get to know her as well as SG-1, but he had a great deal of admiration for the queen Goa'uld and all that she had gone through to break the pattern she'd been bred for.

But he wished he could do more than he was already doing.

&&&&&

While O'Neill was having his hushed conversation with Daniel, Evree had finished brushing her hair. She unnecessarily adjusted a few pieces of jewelry, then was at a loss for what to do next. O'Neill and Daniel seemed to be so serious at the moment. She wasn't feeling serious. But she didn't feel like just sitting around either. Konaseus might have some amusement to while away her time. Without further thought, she headed for the door.

O'Neill looked up just as Evree's hand was reaching for the door. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded. Just seeing her about to wander off on her own like that nearly made his blood run cold.

"I'm bored." She pouted prettily at him. "And you and Daniel were so busy, that I was sure that you must be discussing military business. I didn't want to disturb you."

"Did you just conveniently forget the part about you not going off by yourself?" Jack asked in exasperation. He was trying not to be mad, he really was. He knew that it was probably the drug making her act this way. But she could also piss him off almost as easily as she could turn him on.

The pout hadn't left, but Evree did come over to where the two men were standing. "Surely that doesn't apply now, does it, O'Neill?" She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes. "I mean that was just for when we didn't realize that Konaseus was our friend."

"It still applies," he answered. "In case it escaped your attention, you're one of a kind, and we do like to keep an eye on you. Besides, we haven't been all over the place yet." A not so subtle reminder that she had interrupted their tour, even though he knew the reason behind it now. "There could be places that are still booby-trapped. Ones that wouldn't recognize the fact that you're special and vaporize you."

Evree flung her arms around him in an equal mixture of affection and contrition. "I am sorry, O'Neill," she apologized. "I don't believe that I am thinking straight right now. What is wrong with me?"

Daniel gave Jack a look. He still thought it would be a good idea to tell Evree about her addiction, but O'Neill was standing firmly against it, and he wasn't about to go against his wishes now. Besides, they still needed to talk to Sam and Teal'c. Maybe one of them could convince Jack that telling Evree about her condition would be the more prudent course of action.

O'Neill had other things than Daniel's disapproval on his mind at the moment. "You're probably just feeling a little out of it being in unfamiliar surroundings," he soothed. "I'm sure it will all be better when we get back home."

"Do you really think so?" Evree was burrowing into his chest again, which he generally didn't have a problem with, but he didn't feel right about it when they were on a mission. Oh well, it was only going to be this once.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Well, not until today, but he felt like a heel. Just not enough of one to tell her a truth he didn't think she could accept.

"Not that I am aware of." She wasn't drugged completely stupid, it seemed. "But if you ever did, I am sure you would have a good reason for it. I know you would never deliberately hurt me, O'Neill."

Jack just stood there, holding her, stroking her hair, and feeling like utter slime.

&&&&&

As Konaseus gazed upon this scene, he was neither pleased nor displeased at seeing Evree in her consort's arms. Her reactions at the moment were merely observable data. Most particularly he noted how often she felt compelled to go inhale his blossom's heady fragrance, and it was with satisfaction that he did so. He could afford to play along with the Tau'ri a little while longer, now that Evree was well and truly his. He had the only source of what she needed, and he was sure that she would not willingly leave it.

He gave O'Neill a long, critical look. He was certain that Evree already had his genetic pattern encoded, and the human genome was compatible with his. On further consideration, he decided that he would accept O'Neill as his symbiotes' 'father'. Once he took his rightful place as a god, though, Evree would be his alone, to breed for him.

A new race of Goa'uld for the new age. His to sire, and his to command.


	10. Queen's Gambit

75

Queen's Gambit

When Sam and Teal'c returned, the first thing they looked for was Evree, who was once again sniffing her flower.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir?" Carter asked O'Neill in a respectful aside. "After all, we're pretty sure the flower's scent is some sort of drug."

"I'm sure of it," O'Neill replied. "I may not be a doctor, but I can tell an addict when I see one. Evree is hooked on that stuff."

"So we're just going to let her get even more addicted?" Sam asked, aghast. "Shouldn't we cut her off?"

"And tip off Konaseus that we're on to him?" O'Neill pointed out. "Look, I don't like it. I don't like it a lot. But we can't take her away from here, or even try to start withdrawing the drug until we know the full extent of its effects."

"I had no idea you were so knowledgeable, sir." O'Neill seemed to make a career out of surprising her, Sam thought. "And you're right. She should be under medical supervision when she starts withdrawing." She sighed. "But it doesn't feel right, seeing her addicted like that and not being able to do anything to help."

"How do you think I feel?" O'Neill snapped, then immediately relented, he was taking it out on the wrong person. He just hoped that he'd have the opportunity to take it out on the right person. "Sorry, I'm a little tense about the situation myself."

"Understandable, sir." She felt for him having to watch someone he cared about like this. But she didn't think he wanted any sympathy. At least, not right now. "I guess I'd better get cleaned up for dinner."

Jack gave a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to be late for dinner."

&&&&&

The plan had been for them to sit in the same places at dinner that they had the previous evening, but that all went down the drain almost before any of them could think. Because the place nearest to Konaseus' had a vase with one of the drug-bearing flowers sitting right next to the plate. Evree had let out a delighted squeal and was seated there before any of the rest of them could react.

With a resigned sigh, O'Neill sat down next to her. He knew he wasn't going to be able to persuade her to sit somewhere else, so this was the best he could do, being near to hand in case things got ugly.

And speaking of ugly, he thought, Konaseus entered.

"Greetings all." His smile broadened as he saw where Evree was seated. But he was a polite scoundrel, if nothing else. "I trust that your trip went well, Major Carter?"

"Well enough," Sam replied. She had opted to stay in uniform tonight. Konaseus' leers of the prior evening had made her skin crawl.

"So happy to hear it," their host said genially. Now that things were going according to plan, his plan, he was in an expansive mood. He turned to look at, who else, Evree, who, not surprisingly, was sniffing the flower by her plate. "I am so pleased that you enjoy my humble gift, my queen. The fragrance is quite intoxicating, isn't it?"

"I just can't seem to get enough of it," Evree confessed. "I shall miss it terribly when we have to leave."

Konaseus beamed in satisfaction, thinking that while the first part of Evree's statement was true enough, the second part was pure fallacy. Evree wasn't going anywhere.

Jack found himself hard put to not to scowl at the big man. Too early yet to give things away. But when he glanced at Evree, face in flower again, he decided it was going to have to be soon, or they might not be able to get her off the stuff.

Aside from Konaseus, no one seemed to have much of an appetite for the meal that was served. SG-1 had various reasons, distrust of Konaseus, worry, and observing Evree. Evree spent more time inhaling more of the drug she had unwittingly become addicted to than eating.

Konaseus was in an extremely good mood. And seeing that O'Neill was not, just added to his pleasure. He'd taken a dislike to him the moment he'd first set eyes on him. Now, now would be the time. Enough of this cat and mouse. He surreptitiously slid a capsule from the folds of his garment and popped it into his mouth. Then, his hand reached for a button on the underside of the arm of his chair.

&&&&&&

"Oh, my head." Daniel sat up slowly, hands pressed to his throbbing temples. It occurred to him in a foggy sort of way that seeing as how the last thing he could remember was sitting at the dinner table, then working his way up to sitting up from laying down was wrong. Feeling adventurous, he slowly peeled his eyes open to see the rest of SG-1 arrayed around him in various stages of recovery from.., from.., whatever the hell had hit them.

But no sign of Evree anywhere.

O'Neill was already pushing himself up onto his feet. He wasn't much more recovered than Daniel was, but sheer force of will filled in for the shortcomings. He staggered painfully to the door of the bare cell they were in, feeling like he had the great-grandaddy of all hangovers. He almost forgot what he was doing until coming face to face with the door reminded him. He went to open it, but someone had neglected to put a handle or doorknob on this side of it. He gave it a good whack with his fist and instantly regretted it. It made his head feel like it was going to explode.

There was a grate in the door at eye level, though. He looked out blearily, and saw that the room they were locked in let off from a throne room of grand proportions. Of course, Konaseus would want an audience. But where was he? And, more to the point, where was Evree?

Sam was the last to wake up, and she, like Daniel was holding her head as though she was afraid it would fall off if she didn't. "What happened?"

Teal'c rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I believe it was some type of airborne tranquilizer."

"Knock-out gas, lovely." O'Neill turned away from the door and leaned on it. "But how could Konaseus gas us and not himself?"

"The guy seems to have his finger in everything," Daniel remarked, picking himself up off the floor at last. "He probably was dosed with the antidote ahead of time."

"Or else he is naturally immune to it," Teal'c pointed out.

"We can figure out how we got in here later," O'Neill said, realizing that was not the priority. "Right now, I think our time would be put to better use trying to figure how we're going to get out."

"What's out there, Jack?" Daniel asked as he gave Sam a hand up.

"Looks like a throne room," O'Neill replied. "No one there at the moment, though. Not even a robot."

"I think it would be safe to say that Konaseus is not only quite intelligent," Teal'c observed. "But he is also not quite sane."

"I think the word is megalomania," Sam supplied, supporting herself against a wall. She seemed to be having the hardest time shaking the effects of the sedative. "He'd either get along just great with a Goa'uld symbiote, or there'd be a continual struggle for dominance."

"But he still doesn't realize that Evree isn't like the other Goa'uld," Daniel mused. "She's not really breeding Goa'uld, but Tok'ra."

"A Tok'ra symbiote would not be happy with Konaseus as a host," Teal'c murmured. "There would be continual conflict."

"I sincerely doubt that we'll be around to see the outcome since it takes years for the little snakes to mature," Jack commented. "Unless he's got some way of forcing them to maturity like Anubis.., oh crap, he probably does."

"Given what we've seen so far," Carter said. "I think that a pretty safe bet. But he'll have to make sure that Evree has a genetic code to work with. I don't know whether he'll want to use his own or be satisfied with.., well, with yours, sir."

They all flashed on to what that meant. And even though he knew it was going to hurt, Jack turned and thumped the door again.

&&&&&&

Evree was still asleep, curled up like a kitten. But Konaseus had decided it was time she was awake. He put a large hand on her shoulder and gave her a none too gentle shake. His impatience was beginning to get the best of him.

"Mmph?" Evree tried to squirm away and slip back into a comfortable stupor, but the hand was insistent.

"Wake up, my queen." Konaseus added words to actions. "You have a task to accomplish for me."

"I do?" Evree sat up, yawning. She was still groggy, but not in pain. The effects of the other drug in her system having canceled out the side effects of the tranquilizer. But it came at a price. Instead of questioning what was going on or where her friends were, she immediately began looking for one of the flowers. There was one, on a table half-way across the room. She began working her way up off the low couch upon which she had been lying, her only thought was feeding an addiction she didn't even know she had.

"Not so fast, my queen," Konaseus said, restraining her. "First, you give me what I require, then you shall have what you require."

"Of course," Evree responded warmly, the drug suppressing her judgment. "What do you require?"

&&&&

"She doesn't have my genetic code," O'Neill stated flatly. "We used protection. We decided we're not ready for kids yet," he added with grim humor.

Sam sighed. The whole thing was a catch-22. It was good that Konaseus wouldn't have a symbiote with O'Neill's genetic code, but on the other hand, it also meant that in order to give her something with which to work, Konaseus would have to have sex with Evree himself. And what he had her addicted to would probably work far better than any date-rape drug. Evree might even enjoy it. Sam felt queasy at the idea, and hoped the same thought wouldn't occur to Jack.

&&&&&

"You are lying," Konaseus stated calmly enough, though on the inside, he raged. "You must have his genetic data."

Evree shook her head, not understanding why her 'friend' would doubt her word. At long last, she realized that Konaseus was waiting for a verbal response. "Truly. O'Neill and I gave it much thought and discussion before we ever engaged in sexual relations. We took precautions."

"I need a symbiote," Konaseus went on as if she had never said anything. "A very special symbiote. And you, my queen, are going to give it to me. I have my reasons for not wanting it to have my own genetic markers." It was close to fetishism, he was sure, but the thought of absorbing his own 'child' back into himself and then mating with its mother filled him with a profound distaste.

"I have no genetic sequences upon which to base any offspring," Evree nearly whined. She was ashen and trembling, needing the drug to calm her nerves. Some queens, she knew had mated once and used the same genetic material forever, but it tended to deteriorate with time and usage, rather like a carbon copy of a carbon copy of a carbon copy. And she had deliberately purged herself of Ahriman's code, or, that of his host, once her children had been born. Not only out of her hatred for Ahriman, but because of the fact that it had been forced on her.

Konaseus pondered. He had no use for what was essentially a barren queen. He decided he would speak to his prisoners, glad now that he had not terminated them immediately. He looked at Evree, whom he still held immobile with one hand and realized just how badly her system was craving his drug. "Here." He handed her a vial sealed with a stopper. "This is a distillate of the flower's scent." Evree grabbed for it almost reflexively, but he held it out of her reach. "You must promise to remain here, first."

"I promise," Evree vowed eagerly. She would have promised him anything for that precious vial. She snatched it from his hand, removed the stopper and inhaled deeply, and her features became serene, and the tremors ceased.

"I shall not be long," Konaseus assured, or warned, her. "Remember your promise to me and rest there, my queen."

Evree had already sunk back on the couch. She had that which fed her addiction, she did not feel a need for anything else.

&&&&&&

Konaseus strode to the chamber where the others were imprisoned with long, impatient strides. He had waited so very, very long, he would not be thwarted by some Tau'ri who didn't seem to realize what an honor it was to have his genes used by a superior race. Even if O'Neill could not be persuaded to cooperate, there were still two other males in the party, each with desirable attributes of their own. Mayhap one of them could be made to see reason. Particularly the Jaffa, for after all, were not Jaffa raised from birth to be of service to Goa'uld?

&&&&&&

'Evree.' Evree looked around for the source of the voice, but in her drugged state, she was not as sharp as she was normally. Seeing no one, she shrugged and began to unstopper her vial again.

'Evree, no!' The voice sounded louder and clearer now, and seemed to be coming from inside her head. Draylea, of course, and Evree felt a stab of guilt that she had not spoken with her host for some days now.

'You have been preoccupied, I understand.' Even though the communication was all on a mental level, there was a strained edge to Draylea's 'voice'. 'This is very difficult,' her host went on. 'I am affected by the drug as much as you, maybe more. But I recognize it for what it is.'

'Drug? What drug?' Evree honestly had no clue as to what her host was talking about.

'The drug we are addicted to now,' Draylea informed her. 'The one you are about to inhale more of.'

'A drug?' Evree felt a sickness that had nothing to do with her addiction. 'Konaseus has drugged us? And how is it that you figured it out before I?'

'We are indeed drugged.' By now, Draylea didn't really need to say it, Evree knew. 'Maybe I could see it because I am not so.., involved. Sometimes a little distance, figuratively speaking, makes the observation keener.'

'I remember being at dinner.' Evree was trying desperately to re-create things to find answers. She then realized that she was beginning to pull the stopper out of the vial again. With a sob, she threw it across the room.

'You know this is probably going to be quite painful, don't you?' The words may have been discouraging, but the 'tone' wasn't. Draylea didn't care to be an addict any more than Evree did.

'But we will do this together, won't we?' Evree was putting on a brave face, but her courage came from the fact that she would not be doing this alone. And there was also a pang of regret that Draylea would suffer just as much as she, withdrawing from a drug she had, however unwittingly, gotten them both addicted to.

Then, the queen broke down and wept.

&&&&&

"Greetings." Konaseus' voice came through the grate unexpectedly, and made them all jump. And his voice had a clipped, urgent sound to it rather than his usual genial tones.

"Where is Evree?" O'Neill demanded, going up to the grate.

"Evree is resting now, and no doubt thinking lovely thoughts," Konaseus replied, unable to suppress a smirk at the thought that he had them all in his power. Now, to make use of it.

"You mean drugged beyond caring," Daniel nearly shouted. Soon, they were all gathered around the grate. And if looks could kill, Konaseus would be in for a painful death.

"You did notice," Konaseus observed mildly. "I thought you might. That was why I proceeded apace. That and the fact that I am weary of the eternal waiting."

"You do realize that if you take a Goa'uld symbiote you will be subject to its will and desires?" Teal'c pointed out. "I have never seen an example of the host's personality emerging except when the symbiote allowed it to do so."

Konaseus waved his hand as if swatting a bug. "Not the symbiote we shall engineer between us, Evree and I," he boasted. "Its will shall be subject to mine, and I shall truly be a god."

"So, what's the holdup?" O'Neill asked, sounding casual, though what he really wanted was to wrap his hands around the big man's neck and squeeze. But he had to keep his cool, for Evree's sake and theirs. "I'm sure that Evree is up for anything thanks to the drug you've got her hooked on."

"You are either a very brave man or a very foolish one," Konaseus remarked calmly. "And I cannot believe that an arrant fool would be put in command of others."

"He obviously hasn't been in the U.S. military," Jack muttered in aside, not able to resist despite the seriousness of the situation.

"If one rules out idiocy," Konaseus went on, his handsome face marred by a slight frown, he'd heard what O'Neill said. "Then you are indeed courageous. A very positive quality, and one that I would like to see in my symbiote."

Brave or not, a gusty sigh escaped O'Neill. So Konaseus hadn't slept with Evree. And apparently didn't intend to. It might just put him in a better bargaining position. "What if I say no?" he challenged. And there was no way he wanted so much as one of his genes to ever have anything to do with Konaseus.

Konaseus' smile was very obviously forced. "The next step would be to ask one of your companions to do that which you either will not or cannot." He planted the barb without much faith in its efficacy. If jealously didn't work, he didn't think casting aspersions on O'Neill's manhood would either. But one could never tell.

"And what happens when we refuse also?" Teal'c rumbled, glaring at Konaseus. It angered him to have Evree offered from one man to the next like a piece of trade goods.

"Why then, I will kill all of you," Konaseus said amiably. "But you will all get to watch her die first. And I promise you, it will take a very long time."

"May we have a moment?" Jack asked. Actually a moment wouldn't be nearly enough to discuss all the ramifications, but he wasn't sure he could get even that.

"You may have five of your minutes," Konaseus allowed them generously.

&&&&&&

The worst of the weeping had ceased. It was time to decide on a plan of action. But how? Almost the only thing that Evree could think of now was how much every cell in her body seemed to crave the seductive drug that Konaseus had so neatly addicted her to.


	11. For Queen and Country

83

For Queen and Country

Evree was moving about the room she was in, the best word to describe her motions would probably be she vibrated. She was afraid to leave the room, since in the throes of her addiction, she had failed to ask about O'Neill and the others. Until she knew their fate, and maybe not even then, she dared not act. But neither could she sit still.

Her wanderings had taken her near the table where the flower sat. Every cell in her body, it seemed, screamed for her to inhale its scent and quell the intense craving. She could tell that Draylea was feeling it too, the drug was so suffused throughout the body's system that it would have taken more concentration than Evree was able to muster at the moment to shield her host from the effects. She fought back another sob and lifted her hand to dash the innocent-looking poison to the floor.

'No.' Even given their method of communication, Draylea's 'voice' was weak. 'The vial could be an accident. But if you do this, Konaseus will know that you know.'

Reluctantly, Evree pulled her shaking hand back. But she went back across the room, well away from the temptation. She remembered that she was supposed to be resting, little though she felt like it, and laid back down on the couch, hoping that O'Neill would be able to rescue her.

&&&&&&

"Five minutes isn't very long," Daniel remarked unnecessarily.

"Then let's not waste any of it," Sam said. "Any ideas, sir?"

"If you supply your genetic code," Teal'c warned. "In her current state, Evree will almost certainly comply with Konaseus' wishes."

"I know," Jack replied. "And if I don't, he'll kill her."

Sam was blushing deep red, but still managed to speak. "You.., um.., didn't happen to bring.., anything with you, did you, sir?"

"No." O'Neill gave her a pained look. "This is a mission. I was trying to treat Evree like just another team member. Which meant not sleeping with her."

"Well we can't just stand here and let her die, either," Daniel pointed out. "She may be the next Tok'ra queen, probably will be, once they're sure of her. They need a queen, and we need the allies."

"Do you think you could persuade her to produce one of those blank symbiotes like Egeria created?" Carter suggested. "It would probably satisfy Konaseus. I doubt if he'd be able to tell anything was wrong with it until it was too late."

"Risky," Teal'c mused. "But it may be the only way to placate Konaseus without actually giving him anything."

"Hold the phone a minute," O'Neill protested. "We're still talking about my personal DNA here."

"Jack, Evree is too important to allow her to die," Daniel argued. "If you won't do it.., I.., I will." Daniel suddenly found the floor of supreme interest.

"There is another possibility," Sam suggested. "With all his little tech toys and mechanical advantages, Konaseus might find a way to do what would amount to artificial insemination."

"Don't give him any ideas, Carter," Jack cautioned. He mulled the possibilities, and didn't see but a single answer. "Do you think he'll want to watch?" he asked in horror.

&&&&

Evree lay on her couch, fighting to stop the tremors, which she was sure that Konaseus would notice. And despite the fact that she knew that it was an effect of the drug he had given her, she was still thinking, if not warm, fuzzy thoughts about Konaseus, neither was she able to recreate the nearly paralyzing fear she had had for him initially.

She knew also that not only was she going to have to try to behave as though she were not going through withdrawal, but she was also going to have to attempt to pretend a drug-induced affection for Konaseus to maintain the illusion.

It wasn't going to be easy.

When she heard someone enter, she didn't see, her back was to the door, she steeled herself, tried to muster up a smile. She pulled herself up off the couch and turned around, false smile in place to face..,

"O'Neill!" She flung herself at him.

&&&&&

"What if it doesn't work the first time?" Konaseus was marching O'Neill to Evree's apartment, and Jack, as much as he wanted to see Evree, was stalling.

"What precisely do you mean?" Konaseus gave O'Neill a strange look. He truly hadn't understood the question.

"Well, with humans, a woman doesn't necessarily get pregnant the first time," O'Neill replied. "Sometimes it can take years..,"

"It does not work that way with Goa'uld," Konaseus answered shortly. "Enjoy your time with her, Colonel O'Neill. It shall be the last." He turned to face O'Neill for a moment. "I am giving you the entire night together. For her sake, not yours. But should you fail to do that which is required of you, you will watch her die, and then die yourself, just as painfully." He stopped, opened a door and gestured for O'Neill to enter.

Jack stepped inside, and while the door was shutting behind him began taking in the details of the opulent room. Then, he detected movement, saw a dainty figure struggle to rise from a couch and turn around slowly. Once she saw him, the false grin became the genuine article, and she launched herself at him.

"O'Neill!" She hit him with enough force that he was glad he'd braced himself for the impact. "I knew that you would come to rescue me."

&&&&&&

"What do you think Konaseus will do with us after he's gotten what he wants?" Daniel was full of nervous energy, and at the moment, talk was his only outlet for it.

"Kill us, probably." Teal'c didn't seem particularly disturbed by the idea. Either he still had faith that they could get themselves free or would be rescued, or else he was truly unafraid of dying.

"Since he seems to know so much about the Goa'uld, he might have the intelligence gathering resources to know that we'd make a pretty good bargaining chip with some of them," Sam offered. She wasn't exactly sure if that was a better prospect than death.

"Well, I doubt that he'll try to turn us into slaves," Daniel mused. "He's got his robots for that."

"It's a shame we didn't have more time to discuss things," Sam put in. "We could have had Colonel O'Neill suggest that Evree ask Konaseus if she could keep her 'staff'."

"Maybe Jack will think of it on his own," Daniel said. "I suppose we all agree that there's not a snowball's chance in hell that he'll just let us go when he's done with us?"

"Nice thought," Sam replied. "But I can't see it happening, myself."

"Nor can I," Teal'c agreed. "Should we get the opportunity to escape, however, we should be at our best. Since sleep is one thing we can do in this room, I suggest that we do so."

"I'm too wired to be sleeping right now," Daniel remarked. "I guess that means that I get first watch."

Teal'c looked at Sam who still appeared as if she hadn't fully shaken the effects of the tranquilizer. "I shall take the second watch, then. Sleep well, Major Carter."

Sam hid a huge yawn. "I probably will."

&&&&&

Konaseus was in no mood to sleep himself. He paced, he fidgeted. Part of him wanted to monitor the activities in the queen's chamber, even though he wanted to see her with no other man but himself. And, he was forced, in self-honesty to admit, he only wanted to look because he wanted O'Neill out as soon as the deed was done. But he had promised them the whole night together, and that they would have. He may not have liked O'Neill, but he did respect him.

&&&&&

For long moments, Jack just held the trembling queen in his arms. Slowly it began to sink in to him that the trembling was wrong. He could see the flower from here, surely Evree had been keeping her face buried in it most of the time she'd been awake. He held her out at arm's length and studied her. Her eyes were red-rimmed, giving the appearance that she'd been crying. There was a shiny layer of perspiration on her ashen face. And she was shaking visibly. Then, the pieces of the puzzle clicked together for Jack. "How did you find out?"

Evree stared at him for a moment in confusion, then she realized that he must have know she was addicted, had, probably almost from the start, surely. And could likewise see the signs of withdrawal she had tried so hard to hide. "You knew?" she queried. "Why didn't you tell me, O'Neill?"

"I was afraid that under the influence the way you were, you wouldn't believe me," he confessed. He pulled her back into his arms. "Of all the things that Konaseus has done, that's the one I want to kick his fat butt for the most."

"Draylea told me." Evree had jumped back to the original question, which she noticed she hadn't yet answered. "What have I done, O'Neill? I have gotten both of us addicted."

"No, you didn't," Jack said firmly. "You had no way of knowing. It's Konaseus that's responsible, not you."

"I should have been able to detect the drug and counteract its effects before it got so far," Evree declared, wallowing in guilt. "I have endangered the entire mission with my recklessness. You were right not to want to bring me along."

Jack sighed. He didn't know whether or not he could pull her out of the pit she was digging for herself, and he wasn't sure he had the time. But there was one thing he could set her straight on. "I didn't want to bring you along because I wanted to leave you where I knew you'd be safe," he informed her gently. "And I wasn't sure I could be effective with you around to distract me. As far as the mission goes, you've done fine. None of us saw it coming, and at least you have the excuse that you're new to this."

"Truly?" Evree perked up almost as if she had had a hit of the drug. But it was only momentary. Then, her mood deflated again. "But if we are just standing here talking, it means you are not here to rescue me, doesn't it?"

"We're.., working on it," O'Neill answered evasively, though point in fact, he didn't have a real clue how they were going to get out of this.

Evree racked her less than optimally functioning brain for an answer, but could find none. "Then why are you here?" she asked bluntly.

O'Neill sighed again. This was really going to be the hard part. Explaining exactly why they were going to deliberately do something they'd been going to great pains to avoid almost since the start of their relationship.

&&&&&&

"Any word yet?" General Hammond asked the gate tech.

"No, sir," came the reply. "And they should have reported in a good half hour ago."

"Give them another hour," Hammond said slowly. "Something may have come up to delay them."

"And if they don't?"

"Then, we'll start worrying," Hammond replied grimly. He had jumped a few steps himself though. He was already worrying.

&&&&&

"But we agreed that is was not in anyone's best interests for me to have your genetic data." As O'Neill had expected, the explanations were not going well.

"It's also not in anyone's best interests to have you die, either," he stated. "Besides, we're not totally without options. Do you remember us telling you about Egeria?"

"The Tok'ra queen?" Evree looked up at him wonderingly. "I am not sure if I can do that, O'Neill, although I will try. But what of the others? Goa'uld have litters, as you have said upon occasion."

"Is there any way you could control how many you give birth to?" O'Neill asked wincing at her quoting one of his less than flattering remarks. He really hadn't given any thought to any symbiote by the one Konaseus would take into himself. And, for a Goa'uld, Evree was quite maternal.

Evree considered. "I might be able to keep it down to a mere handful," she conceded reluctantly. "But after Konaseus takes one, that will leave the rest. Poor, mindless things, destined to die."

"I know you don't like the idea," O'Neill said, holding her closer. "Come to that, I'm not all that thrilled with it myself. But it may be the only way we can all get out of this alive. And, incidentally keep Konaseus from fulfilling his delusions of godhood."

"What if Konaseus has some method for detecting that the offspring are defective?" Evree was only seeking information now. She had gone through much for what she believed in before, and would do so again, however reluctantly.

"Let him think it's because of that damn drug he addicted you to," Jack replied, with overtones of a snarl. "I just hope that crap hasn't screwed you up permanently."

"Is that possible?" Evree was starting to get that horrified look on her face again, and O'Neill could have kicked himself for saying something that didn't really need to be said at the time. She had enough to deal with as it was, she didn't need to be worrying about 'what ifs'.

"Why don't you try to forget that I ever said that?" Jack requested ruefully. "We'll worry about that when the time comes." He looked down into the chocolate-brown eyes that gazed so trustingly up at him, despite everything that had happened. He bent down and brushed his lips across hers, more reassuring than provocative. "Right now, why don't we just do what we can to increase the odds in our favor?" he suggested. Then, he kissed her again, and this one wasn't meant to be reassuring.

&&&&&&

"Teal'c." Daniel said it softly, so as not to wake Sam. But he wasn't about to touch a battle-ready Jaffa while he was sleeping. He wasn't feeling suicidal at the moment.

Teal'c came awake immediately, and looked at him questioningly.

Daniel shook his head. "Nothing stirring. We probably don't even need to keep watch, but..,"

"Best to be prepared for any eventuality," the Jaffa finished for him. He looked over where Carter slept so soundly despite having nothing softer than the bare floor to lie on. "I am concerned about Major Carter. She seemed to have a great deal of difficulty shaking off the effects of the tranquilizer."

"Maybe she was sitting closer to wherever it came out and got a bigger dose than the rest of us," Daniel hypothesized.

"A possibility," Teal'c conceded. "But there is also a chance that she has a physical antipathy to it."

"I hope not," Daniel replied worriedly. "We already know that we're going to be taking back one person in need of immediate medical attention. I was hoping that we could kind of keep the numbers down to that one."

Teal'c considered. "I am quite well rested. Perhaps it would be best if I let Major Carter sleep through her watch. If, as you suggested, she merely had a higher rate of exposure to the gas, then the extra sleep may be what she needs to get over the aftereffects."

"Your call." Daniel yawned, the adrenalin had burned off, and was starting to call in its debts. "I'll see you in the morning then."

Teal'c nodded, then took his place as sentry near the door. Daniel took off his jacket and tried to wad it into an acceptable pillow and laid down, hoping he could sleep.

&&&&&&&

O'Neill looked at the figure laying beside him, carefully pushing back a sizable quantity of hair so that he could see her features. There was the occasional twitch and tremor as the throes of withdrawal made themselves evident, even while Evree slept. He hoped that she could keep sleeping a while longer, just to spare her the agonies that were surely to come as her body became even more desperate for that which it had become dependant upon. But his internal clock said that it must be morning, or nearly so, and Konaseus was sure to be around soon. Jack didn't know if he could keep the big man from waking Evree, or even if she would keep sleeping, but he thought it would be best if he was up and dressed and ready to go when their captor showed up.

Getting up without disturbing Evree was a bigger challenge than just sliding out of bed. First, O'Neill had to slide his arm out from under her. That took a little time, as there were also the masses of hair to consider. Usually she put in a loose braid to sleep in, but there hadn't been time for that last night, and Jack idly wondered if Konaseus had, or would build a robot that could deal with tending to Evree's hair.

O'Neill had barely gotten his pants on when the door opened. He should have known that Konaseus wouldn't bother to knock. He hurriedly yanked his shirt on as the big man entered and put a finger to his lips hoping that Konaseus would get the hint. And, more importantly, take it.

Just as O'Neill started making his way towards the door, hopefully keeping Konaseus from bothering Evree, a low moan came from the direction of the couch, rapidly followed by another.

Both men moved towards the disturbance, but O'Neill was nearer and quicker. He looked at Evree, and as he suspected, she was still asleep. Two nightmares in two nights was unusual nowadays. Either the stress was getting to her, or it had something to do with the drug Konaseus had introduced into her system. He sat carefully on the edge of the couch. It was still warm from where he'd been laying.

"Sshh, it's all right," Jack soothed. "I'm here." Experience had taught him to speak before he touched her. Touching her without announcing himself, as it were, tended to set her off into a violent screaming episode. Now that she knew he was here, if only subconsciously, it should be okay to touch her. He gently pushed the hair out of her face again, stroked a pale cheek. "Evree, it's O'Neill. You're having a bad dream, honey."

Konaseus stood near and watched as O'Neill handled a situation that was obviously familiar to him. "What ails her?" he demanded softly. What could give a god nightmares?

Jack didn't answer, but gathered the shaking Evree into his arms, exposing her bare, hideously scarred back where Konaseus could see it.

For once, Konaseus was truly taken aback. Who would dare to treat a god thus? Who could? And why had she not healed herself in a sarcophagus? It did explain the nightmares, though.

"You will always be here to protect me, won't you, O'Neill?" Evree murmured. "I only feel truly safe when you are near."

Jack wasn't sure if it was a new ploy, or just Evree coming out of a nightmare, but it wouldn't hurt to play it honestly either way. "As long as I can manage," he promised, without promising anything specific.

Konaseus looked about ready to boil over, but from appearances, his rage was not focused on O'Neill, even though Jack was still holding 'his' queen in his arms. His gaze was fixed on Evree's disfigured back.

"Who dared to do such a thing?" he snarled.

Evree jumped. She had been aware that Konaseus was near, just not that near. She laid her head on O'Neill's shoulder and tried to regulate the beat of a heart that seemed to want to pound hard and loud enough to be heard several feet away. or so it seemed to her.

O'Neill stroked her hair and let her cuddle. For all they knew, although he hoped not, it could be the last time. "It was a Goa'uld name of Ahriman," he informed Konaseus. No harm in letting him have the information. Then, he couldn't resist adding, "That was the last guy to try to make Evree do something she didn't want to do."

"What did he try to make her do?" Konaseus was all ears now, his curiosity thoroughly piqued.

"Breed," said Evree shortly, pulling away from O'Neill so that she could slip something on before Konaseus could see more than she cared to show him. Once decent, she turned a plastic smile in his direction. "But of course with you it is different, isn't it? You're not forcing me."

"Nor would I," Konaseus lied smoothly. "Seeing just what it would take to force you to cooperate."

Despite the conversation, O'Neill could see that Konaseus was getting twitchy, so he rose to his feet after one final squeeze. "You're wrong about that, Konaseus," he drawled lazily. "Ahriman never got what he wanted."


	12. Breaking the Habit

90

Okay, first things first. Things are looking pretty grim, and are going to get even grimmer. Before you throw up your hands in disgust and give up, I absolutely guarantee a happy ending. Promise. It's just going to take a while. So hang tight, all will be well. Just not right away.

Breaking the Habit

General Hammond took the report from Dr. Frasier as if he were afraid it would bite him. It was the findings on the flower that Major Carter had brought back. "Can you give me the highlights, Doctor?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Janet replied. "The flower's scent is a pretty potent mood-altering drug, but I don't believe it's natural. There are certain markers that suggest it was genetically altered."

"Is it addictive?" The question was one that had been on his mind ever since he'd first heard that Evree had been exposed to it.

"Very much so," Frasier answered. "In fact, when I tested it on rats, nine out of the ten went into congestive heart failure during withdrawal and died."

For a minute or two, Hammond just stared at the paper in his hand like it was responsible for the bad news. Then, he got himself together. "As you may know, Doctor, SG-1 is way overdue to report in. I haven't given up hope, but the delicacy of the current situation precludes sending in another team just yet. But in light of the information that you've just given me, Evree is probably going to be in pretty bad shape when they do return. Get whatever you may need set up and ready to go, and have people standing by 24/7. I'm putting SG-8 and SG-3 on alert as well."

"Yes, sir." Janet would have like to say more, but SG-1 could, and hopefully would, be returning at any time. She needed to prepare her facilities for a Goa'uld in acute withdrawal.

&&&&&

O'Neill walked down the corridors with Konaseus at his back, not a place where he was happy to have him, either. He idly wondered if his remark of the previous evening about it 'not working the first time', had bought them some time. That thought didn't take him very far, and there was something he was trying to keep from dwelling on, but nothing much was working. Just as he and Konaseus had started out the door, Evree had cried out, "Wait!" When they had stopped in their tracks (it hadn't occurred to either one of them not to), she had run up to him and pulled his head down to her level (Jack didn't resist, being Goa'uld, she was stronger than she looked). He was half-expecting one last kiss, but instead, she had whispered, "I love you", in his ear. It was a phrase neither of them had used to date. Evree wasn't sure that Goa'uld were truly capable of the emotion as she understood it, and Jack.., well, if he were honest with himself, he'd have to say he'd probably been in denial. He'd felt protective of her, most definitely lusted after her, but there was that one little part of him that said he couldn't be in love with a Goa'uld. Now, it was probably too late, and he really wished he had said it.

"You are not nearly so talkative as you were last night, Colonel O'Neill," Konaseus observed. "What did she say to you just as we were leaving?"

"None of your damn business," Jack growled. He hadn't liked Konaseus from the start, and what Evree had said to him was something he wasn't sure he felt like sharing with anyone at the moment, and most certainly not with Konaseus.

"Need I remind you, Colonel," the big man remarked, with signs of irritation. "That your life, and those of your friends lie in my hands?"

"I'm not stupid," O'Neill snapped. "I know that. I knew it the minute we first set eyes on you. And I'm still not telling you. It was.., personal."

"Do not delude yourself that she may have feelings for you," Konaseus warned condescendingly. "The thought that a superior creature such as a Goa'uld might have any more affection than one gives a favored pet for a lower being such as yourself is absurd."

Keep it cool, Jack, O'Neill told himself. Konaseus doesn't know, but he may suspect. He's trying to piss you off so badly that you blurt it out without thinking. But the less rational part of him wanted to do just that. To wipe that supercilious smirk off his swarthy face and deflate that towering ego.

"As far as your life goes," Konaseus continued with scarcely a pause. "That is safe. For the moment. Until the time arrives when my queen realizes that she had no need of you."

"So you're just going to lock us in that box of a room until Evree forgets about us?" It was actually better than O'Neill had anticipated. At least, it gave them some time.

&&&&&&

Evree sat in a large, open window (the room was high enough that only a death wish would prompt her to try to use it as an exit), carefully working the tangles from her hair and fighting back the pain. She wasn't sure which pain was worse, her body crying out for Konaseus' drug, or the pain in her heart that said she would never see O'Neill again, even in the unlikely even that Konaseus allowed him to live.

Konaseus entered Evree's room, once more, without knocking, expecting to hear that she was ready to deliver his symbiote at any time. He also anticipated that she would have used the vial of distillate that he had given her to chase away the effects of her nightmare and she would once more be serene, pliable and cooperative. It was a complete shock to him to find her sitting in a window, sobbing as though her heart would break. As he made his way towards her, his sandaled foot came down upon something that crunched. He stepped back and looked down, seeing the remnants of the vial that had contained the precious distillate. He frowned, but scooped up the flower he had had placed there for show and carried it, stem dripping water over to the window.

"Why do you weep, my queen?" he asked softly as he came near her. And then made a quick grab that saved a startled Evree from tumbling out the window.

"Because I am in pain," Evree replied breathlessly. She was startled, but not enough to specify the source of the pain that caused her tears. But she belatedly realized that she should not be in pain at all.

"Perhaps this will make things seem better," Konaseus suggested, offering her his flower.

Evree had to fight several impulses at once. The urge to merely cringe away from the flower, or what almost certainly have been worse, to slap it out of Konaseus' hand. But the last one was the very worst. The desire to snatch the blossom away and bury her face in it, inhaling deeply. Then. she knew, her pain would seem trivial and far away.

Evree took the proffered bloom, trying to control the shaking of her hands, but she carefully took a deep breath before bringing the flower to her face and hoping the act, and the one to follow would fool Konaseus. She raised her face and smiled at him, trying to quell the rising nausea.

"Better?" Konaseus inquired gently.

"Very much, thank you." Evree wished he would leave her. Working on the deliberately defective offspring would take a great deal of concentration. She could not do that and keep playing games with Konaseus at the same time.

"What happened to the distillate that I gave you?" he asked bluntly. Seeing her like this raised his suspicions. Had O'Neill told her about the drug? If so, well, he hadn't thought to forbid him to do so. But how else would she know?

"I dropped it." Evree blinked innocently. "It was terribly clumsy of me. Can you forgive me for destroying your thoughtful gift?"

"It was an accident, my queen." At this point in time, Konaseus was beginning to believe that it was no accident at all, but a very deliberate act. "At any rate, I have another gift for you."

"So very generous of you," Evree murmured, wondering what the gift could be. She was starting to become very distrustful of Konaseus' gifts. They all seemed to have some very expensive strings attached.

"Here." Konaseus held out the bauble briefly for Evree's inspection, then deftly fastened the chain around her neck. Like any good computer programmer, he believed in having a backup. And backups for the backups.

"It's lovely," she responded. A single, gold orb with intricate tracery depended from the chain, and somehow she began to feel better. Everything would work out. It had to.

Konaseus smiled back. Plans for every possible contingency, he thought with satisfaction. The decoration she now wore would give her nearly undetectable doses of the drug. But those miniscule amounts would be administered almost continuously. No more weeping, just his queen getting down to the business of breeding his symbiote.

&&&&&

Everyone had been up and awake when O'Neill returned to the cell. He saw faces full of questions, but he didn't feel like answering any of them at the moment. He went over to a corner, squatted down, balanced his elbows on his knees, steepled his fingers and started thinking. He had a lot of it to do.

The others watched O'Neill, but stayed at a respectful distance and gave him some space. For a little while, at least. Then, they were going to need a few answers to work out just what sort of plans as they could make in their current circumstances.

&&&&&&

Evree had listened to Konaseus drone on for over an hour before she managed to persuade him to leave. Her pleasant, drug-induced good humor had convinced him that she could not be up to something, and Evree had been very genuinely sincere in explaining that she really needed to be left alone to concentrate to make the necessary preparations to produce his symbiote. After receiving her promises that she would inform him via one of the robots when she was ready to deliver, he finally did leave.

She was now seated on the floor in a lotus, doing precisely that genetic tailoring of the lives her body was creating. A tear trickled down her cheek as she thought of what she was doing, deliberately birthing children with just enough brain function to exist, no more. She was able to weep, because she had slipped her new necklace into her pocket as soon as Konaseus' back was turned. If she didn't accept his latest deception, he would find still another way, one that she couldn't fight, or possibly even detect. He must be allowed to believe that he had won all, right up until the very last minute.

But Evree was making contingency plans of her own. She had assumed that the others had been disarmed when Konaseus had rendered them all unconscious. But he had no doubt either discounted the possibility that she was armed, or considered her too influenced by his drug to be dangerous. And indeed, that had been the case at the time. It was not until she had gone to put the necklace away that she realized that she still carried the Goa'uld bracelet. Much as she loathed Konaseus, she did not want to kill him. She was coming to the realization that he had plans within plans within plans, and to kill him might set something in motion that would be even more difficult to deal with than the man himself. But if it became absolutely necessary, and most certainly if he threatened O'Neill, or any of her friends, she amended hastily, then fogged in by the drug or not, she would kill him.

&&&&&&

Jack got up out of his corner. He'd gotten to the point where his thoughts were no longer making much sense, but were chasing each other around in circles, like a dog chasing its tail.

"How's Evree doing, sir?" Carter asked cautiously, as O'Neill joined the group.

"It depends on how you look at it," O'Neill replied. "On one hand, she looks like hell, pale, sweating, has the shakes. One the other hand, it's a good sign because..,"

"She's going into withdrawal," Daniel said softly. "I thought you weren't going to tell her."

"I didn't," O'Neill shot back. "She heard it from a source she had to believe, which I doubt would have been me when she was drugged up."

"Konaseus did not inform her of the fact, surely?" Teal'c inquired, surprised. He'd credited their captor with more intelligence than that.

"Draylea," Jack corrected him. "She's addicted too, obviously. But somehow, she was able to recognize it and tell Evree."

"And the symbiotes," Daniel pressed. "Is she going to be able to do what Egeria did?"

"She's not sure," O'Neill admitted. "But she's going to try."

"Do you have any idea what Konaseus plans for us?" Sam queried.

"He said he's going to keep us around until Evree realizes she doesn't need us," Jack reported grimly. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's keeping us for leverage, in case his drug can't get him everything he wants."

"Then despite what he said," Teal'c remarked. "That may be all that he is waiting for. For Evree to give him what he wants."

&&&&&

Evree glided silently into the room where Konaseus was reassembling the servitor that Sam had dissected. She seemed to be idly toying with the necklace he had given her, though in fact, she had spent some time in front of a mirror trying to make it seem like normal fidgeting, when in fact, she was attempting to shield herself from the worst of the drug's effects. She had no way of knowing whether or not it could be absorbed through the skin, but she did know for a fact that it was meant to be inhaled. Since that was the only fact she had to work with, she did what little she could with it.

She looked around the room, taking the opportunity, since Konaseus had not yet registered her presence. There was where she had stood, taking notes for Samantha, and there was where the big cat had attacked Teal'c.

Her mental wanderings were halted as Konaseus became aware of her presence. "You need not have come to me," he commented, although inwardly he was delighted that she'd made the effort. "Is it time yet?"

"It will take a few hours," Evree replied demurely. "In the meantime, I was growing weary of my own company. I am not used to being alone for extended periods of time." And that was no more than the truth. As sovereign of a planet with slaves to cater to her every whim, then to seek asylum on Earth and be under nearly constant surveillance for her own safety, Evree really almost never was alone.

"And I am being remiss in my duties as a host," Konaseus murmured apologetically. "I would beg your forgiveness."

"You have been a most kind and generous host," Evree responded warmly. A dose of the drug had gotten through at the right time to enable her to react so. "I realize that there are things you must do to maintain your dwelling. I would like to see the rest of my friends, if I may." She had carefully rehearsed the speech and had forced herself to put a little emphasis on the phrase, 'rest of my friends'. Let him believe that she trusted him.

"You do not desire my company?" Konaseus sounded genuinely hurt.

"I desire company," Evree answered simply. "But you seem to be occupied." Her stomach roiled as she implied that she would accept Konaseus' company. Would her seeming lack of preference between him and her friends convince him that he had nothing to lose by letting her see the others? Or would she be caught in her own trap and have to while away the time with Konaseus? Right now, the minute doses of the drug she was getting was all that made his presence even remotely tolerable.

"I would rather you didn't," Konaseus said slowly. To his eyes, the queen's behavior was most erratic. Part of the time she behaved as she would be expected to under the influence of his drug. But there were other times when he could detect traces of something else, probably her own personality. And what was she up to, constantly fiddling with the necklace he had placed around her neck? In the few short days he had known her, he had never seen her behave thus, even in the beginning, when she had obviously mistrusted and feared him. Before he definitely said either yea or nay to her request, he decided, a small test was called for. "But I do understand that it may take some time for you to let go of your unsuitable attachments," he went on. If the drug was doing the work it was supposed to, she should balk or take offense at that remark. Of course, if she were completely under the influence, as she should be, his original suggestion should have been enough. She should be happily obeying his slightest whim. Perhaps the drug itself was flawed, since he had not had a Goa'uld to use to tailor it to them on a genetic level. "I might, however reconsider, my queen. If you but grant me one small favor."

"You have but to name it," Evree agreed. She wasn't sure it was a good idea, to make an open promise, nor whether Konaseus would take it as a good sign or a bad one. But she needed to see that her friends were well. She deliberately allowed a dose of the drug to hit her and gave him a vapid, adoring and eagerly compliant smile.

"You may see them," Konaseus conceded. "If you kiss me first."

&&&&&&

The little pow-wow had broken up for the moment. All of them together had gotten no further than O'Neill had on his own. And since there was nothing going on, Jack was at the door, staring out the grate and thinking his own thoughts again.

Until Teal'c approached him.

"You have been quite withdrawn since your return," the Jaffa observed. "I surmise that something took place last night that disturbed you."

"I wouldn't necessarily say disturbed," Jack said defensively. "Let's just say it gave me food for thought."

"A great deal of thought, apparently," Teal'c pressed on.

"Well, it's.., complicated," O'Neill hedged.

"Then it must be about Evree," Teal'c went on calmly. "Complicated is a very appropriate word for your relationship."

"She told me she loves me," O'Neill broke down and confessed. He hadn't meant to tell anyone, and yet, he felt better for having said it.

Teal'c arched an eyebrow. "Is there some reason that would not be a good thing?"

"Did I say it wasn't?" Jack was still very much on the defensive, and realized that he was probably being more than a little silly. And that he certainly wasn't fooling anyone. Not even himself, and certainly not Teal'c. "I'm not sure how I feel about it. Except maybe a little guilty, because I never told her how I felt about her."

"So you will tell her the next time you meet," Teal'c replied evenly. Then, he caught O'Neill's look. "I see. You are not sure that you will see her again."

"Maybe," Jack answered evasively. "But never privately. At least, not enough for that."

"Are you ashamed of caring for her that you cannot speak of it in front of others?" Teal'c was relentless. "As you pointed out, your opportunities may be limited."

"I know," O'Neill muttered miserably. He was about to go on when a motion outside caught his eye. "Hey, there's one of those robots."


	13. Tempus Fugit

99

Tempus Fugit

"Kiss you?" Of all the things Evree might have anticipated that Konaseus would demand, that was not one of them.

"Is it so terrible a request?" Konaseus inquired, watching her like a hawk. He laid down what he had been tinkering with, ran one hand up the loose sleeve of her garment, enjoying the feel of the silky skin that he caressed. "You must know that I desire you, that I mean us to be together. And yet, all I request is one kiss."

Evree was hard put not to flinch away from his touch. Nor could she think of a way not to comply with what he asked of her without ruining everything. She was sure that if she were completely held in sway by the drug, she would already be kissing him enthusiastically. The longer she delayed, the worse it would look, and the more suspicious Konaseus would be. "I was merely surprised at how little you ask," she improvised. "I make such an unmerited request, and all the recompense you require is a kiss."

"Not recompense," Konaseus corrected her. "Merely reassurance. I need to know that you trust me. And that I can trust you." He slowly removed his hand from her arm, and picked her up as easily as he had the fateful day he had begun her addiction, and set her atop the high bench he had been working at.

"But I do trust you," Evree declared, letting the pendant hang free. She was going to need to be drugged to get through this. "And you can trust me." She slid her delicate hands around his massive neck and tilted her face upwards. The only thing that kept her from losing what little breakfast she had eaten was closing her eyes and thinking of O'Neill.

&&&&&

Teal'c too was now peering out the grate, and it was his sharp eyes that first caught the flutter of brilliant silk, wafting in the servitor's wake. "It is Evree," he announced loudly.

Sam and Daniel immediately joined them, and by the time they had reached the door, Evree was in plain sight. She was scrubbing furiously at her mouth with the back of her hand, and something gold glittered and swung from the hand she held at her side. Then, she saw them all gathered at the grate, stopped wiping her lips and rushed to greet them, fingers twining through the bars.

"It is good to see you," she exclaimed in a rush. "Are you all well?"

"We're fine," Daniel assured her. They were all checking her out carefully. She didn't seem to be as caught up in the throes of withdrawal as Jack had said she was, though. "What about you? I thought you had gone off the drug."

Evree let out a helpless sigh and displayed the pendant. "Konaseus found another way to deliver the drug," she explained. "If I do not allow myself enough to quell the symptoms, then I think he will..,"

"Just find another way to administer it," Sam finished for her. "Some way that you can't get around."

Evree nodded. "That was my thought as well," she replied. "Well, mine and Draylea's. But we must leave this place soon." There was a slight hysterical edge to her voice. She fought a moment to control it, then asked, out of the clear blue, "Samantha, do you have any of that candy with you?"

Sam had a secret, or not so secret passion for horehound candy, and usually had a few pieces on her. She generally didn't have to worry about people mooching it off her, because hardly anyone liked it. "You hate my candy," she pointed out. Then, she remembered the way Evree had been wiping her lips, as if they were contaminated, and understanding followed. She hurriedly fished out the candy. "Here," she said, thrusting it through the grate to Evree, who immediately popped it into her mouth. She made a face at the taste, but did not spit it out. "Why on earth did you..?" Sam glanced at Jack and cut the question short.

"Konaseus needed some token of my cooperation," Evree mumbled around the sweet. "It was the only way he would allow me to see you." She bit down on the hard candy and hurriedly disposed of it, to facilitate speaking, and added tactlessly, "He has an enormous tongue. I thought I would choke on it."

"Too much information," Daniel muttered. He tried to blank the mental images, and wasn't doing too well at it.

"Way too much information," O'Neill agreed. The only good part about it in his eyes, aside from being able to see her, was the fact that Evree had obviously found the experience unpleasant. Well, so did he, but there were more pressing matters on the agenda. "So, how's the baking going?"

"Baking?" Evree was mystified, but it didn't stop her from looking into his eyes and drinking in the sight of him.

"I believe that he is referring to the symbiotes your are to breed for Konaseus," Teal'c elaborated. He had been among humans far longer than she and had become accustomed to their speech patterns. Particularly O'Neill's.'

"It will be soon," Evree replied. She was behaving even more seriously than ever, and her knuckles were white where she gripped the grate. Jack reached up and gently unlocked the death-grip she had, lacing his fingers through hers.

"If Konaseus suspects the offspring are defective," Evree whispered loudly. "I have a plan."

"What plan?" O'Neill demanded. If he could put his own personal plan into action, it would involve kicking the crap out of Konaseus.

"I still have the bracelet," Evree answered in the whisper that was no whisper. "He failed to disarm me."

"Maybe because he never realized you were armed," Sam suggested. The rest of them had obviously been packing, but Evree's weapon had always been kept out of sight.

"That's my girl," Jack said approvingly. He was beginning to think they'd get out of this one after all.

"Will you be able to use the weapon against him?" Teal'c queried. "Having to remain addicted to that drug..,"

"Now that I know it for what it is," Evree broke in. "I can counteract the effects to some small degree. And knowing what will happen to all of you if I fail gives me a great deal of incentive." Her face went completely blank for a moment, then she regretfully disentangled her fingers from O'Neill's. "I must go to him now," she stated. "It is time."

&&&&&

"Everything is ready and waiting, sir," Dr. Frasier reported to General Hammond.

"Now all we need is for SG-1 to return," Hammond remarked grimly. They were several hours late to report in now, but he was going to give them twenty-four before he sent in anyone else. He also tried to prepare himself for the possibility that this might be the one time they wouldn't come back. He'd lost good people before, and would again, but he had never been able to accept such news with complete equanimity. And the day he did would be the day he retired. This time for good.

"General," Janet began hesitantly. "I'll do all I can for Evree, you know that. But there is a very real chance that she won't survive withdrawing from the drug."

"I gathered that from your report, Doctor," Hammond replied. "You just do the best you can, like the rest of us." But once again, as he had many times before, he wondered if his best couldn't have been a little bit better.

&&&&

Instead of sending a message with one of the mechanoids, Evree went back to Konaseus.

"I assume that you have a birthing tank prepared?" she inquired the moment she was in his presence. She gave an instant's thought to how ironic it would be if, with all his contingency plans he had failed on that score.

"Of a certainty, my queen." Konaseus rushed to her side. "But you should have sent for me rather than exert yourself so."

"I do nothing that will damage the offspring," Evree stated quietly, while thinking to herself that she had already done the damage.

"I must take your word for it," Konaseus conceded. "But it is some distance from here to the birthing chamber I've prepared." Evree saw a small movement, his hand slipping beneath his robes and guessed that he had some sort of remote control hidden there.

In a remarkably short time, a device that had every appearance of a sedan chair arrived. Every appearance save for the fact that it hung in mid-air on its own with no one, not even robots to bear it. The awkwardness of the otherwise elegant contraption lay in that it hovered above the floor higher than Evree's waist. She looked hopelessly at Konaseus, who laughed, lifted her up and deposited her within.

&&&&&&

'This is going to be the most dangerous part,' Evree thought to her host as Konaseus escorted the floating sedan to the appointed place. 'We will be much more vulnerable apart.'

'And there is no way you can birth your young without leaving me.' Even on a strictly mental level, Draylea sounded tired, and in pain, and Evree felt a stab of guilt for getting her host into such a predicament. 'Stop that,' Draylea ordered gently. 'We are in this together. It would not be fitting if I shared in the pleasures and none of the dangers.'

'But I made the decision for both of us,' Evree pointed out. 'I did not even think to consult you, and I should have.'

'I would have said something if I had seen anything to object to,' Draylea rejoined. 'You make certain to give me credit for that which I have done well, but yet you insist on taking all the blame upon yourself.'

'You are accusing me of hubris?' Evree asked ruefully.

'You are, after all, Goa'uld,' Draylea observed dryly. 'I believe it is a genetic trait.'

'No longer Goa'uld, I think.' Evree was completely serious now. 'I am Tok'ra.'

&&&&&

Jack was trying not to pace the confines of the cell, but it was a struggle. The point that Evree had made to Draylea about being more vulnerable apart had occurred to him as well. And it wouldn't take much for Konaseus to keep them apart if he took a notion to either. He sighed.

Sam approached him cautiously. "I know you're worried about her, sir," she said softly. "We all are. But we can't do anything about it right now, and you're just going to make yourself crazy imagining worst case scenarios."

"Believe me, Carter, I would dearly love to stop," O'Neill replied solemnly. "But it's not easy. In fact, it's damn near impossible."

&&&&&&

Evree allowed Konaseus to lift her down out of the sedan, she really didn't have any options there, but she was beginning to believe that he was now making excuses to touch her. And, as he set her down and released her, his hands 'accidentally' brushed up against her breasts.

And she dared not say a thing.

Then, before she knew it, he was lifting her up again, so that Draylea could lay in repose on a high couch while she birthed her young in the nearby tank.

'If it would appear that he intends to harm you,' she silently gave Draylea last minute instructions. 'Have no thought for me. Try to save yourself.'

'I won't leave you, Evree.' Draylea at her most stubborn.

'You will not be able to be there for me if he kills you,' Evree pointed out sensibly. 'I hope he will not, but I don't know what he has in mind for me. Farewell.' As she thought the final syllable, she left her host, and truly felt her vulnerability as Konaseus scooped her up to place her in the birthing tank.

&&&&&

"There are five of them," Konaseus remarked over an hour later. Before she had well and truly gotten settled back into her host, actually, and thankful that she could do so.

"I have yet to hear of a Goa'uld having a single birth," Evree replied apologetically. She really felt that she would prefer to be alone now, rather than have to view the children she had deliberately made dysfunctional. Their very presence was a reproach. "I did attempt to keep their numbers down, since you require but one."

"Then I shall observe them and choose which one I believe to be the most suitable," Konaseus declared, peering into the tank. He turned to look at Evree. "Have you any recommendations?"

Evree tried to shrug nonchalantly. "They are newborn," she pointed out. "They are much of a muchness now. Besides, why hurry to decide? It will be years before they are mature enough to take a host."

"I have a device that will enable me to accelerate their maturation," Konaseus replied, trying to appear modest.

"Are you not afraid that it will damage them?" Evree asked a little too sharply for her supposed condition. "It has been my experience that nature has reasons for its methods."

"Feeling maternal?" Konaseus looked at her quizzically.

"I bred them so you could take a symbiote," Evree answered softly, a quick inhalation of the drug just preventing her from snapping at him. She hoped that he would believe her initial reaction had to do with being separated from her host while birthing. "Not to be laboratory animals."

"The device has already been tested," Konaseus assured her. From his extensive research, he knew that Goa'uld were not nurturing creatures, and yet, here was Evree, apparently fretting about the fate of her young. He finally concluded that it could be but another consequence of the drug and decided to let it go at that. "Would you care to observe the process for yourself?"

Now in truth, Evree would rather face down Anubis than to watch Konaseus' machine age her defective children prematurely. But she had more than herself to consider. A great deal more. "I'm sure it will be most fascinating," she declared, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "You are a very clever man, Konaseus."

Konaseus' massive chest seemed to expand. He beamed down at Evree approvingly. This was how she should be behaving. "Together we will overthrow Anubis and the System Lords. Then, my queen, the universe shall be ours."

&&&&&

"How long?" Janet asked of no one in particular. She and General Hammond had both given up the pretense of getting anything accomplished and were spending most of their time hanging around the gate room, praying for SG-1's return.

"Seven more hours," Hammond replied. He was determined to stick to it, even though he knew that each passing hour decreased the chances of SG-1 returning alive and well.

"General, I know it's a delicate situation," Frasier said, turning to look at him. "But the longer Evree is addicted to that drug, the harder it's going to be to get her off it. And the smaller her chances of surviving the withdrawal will be."

"I'm aware of that, Doctor," Hammond responded, eyes firmly on the iris as if he could cause it to open by the sheer force of his will. "While I don't like it any better than you do, may I remind you that Evree is older than both of us put together? And that she knew there were risks going into this."

"And I have no doubt that she thought whatever the risks were, Colonel O'Neill would be able to protect her," Janet commented softly.

&&&&&

"If she dies, it'll be my fault," O'Neill said, staring out the grate. "She trusted me to protect her."

"Jack, I'm sure she wouldn't blame you if something happened," Daniel soothed. "You've done the best you could under circumstances no one could imagine. We all know that. Including Evree."

O'Neill shook his head. "You've never seen that look in her eyes," he reflected sadly. "Complete and utter trust, just like you'd get from a kid. And this will be worse than letting a kid down, because that usually doesn't involve someone dying."

"I don't think I've ever seen you act so.., defeated, before," Daniel remarked. "You've been in closer scrapes than this before, Jack. We all have."

"The only way I can think to put it is that each and every one of us knew exactly what was at stake coming into this," O'Neill stated. "But how can someone who's been around hundreds of years and can fully expect to be around hundreds more really accept the fact of her own mortality?"

"You're saying you don't think she believes she can die?" Daniel was dumfounded. That may have held true for most Goa'uld, but Evree? "Maybe you ought to take another look at her scars before you imply that she feels indestructible," he suggested. "Evree is not your typical Goa'uld."

"She's not your typical anything," O'Neill agreed and then some.

&&&&&&

Evree dutifully watched as Konaseus used a remote control to wheel the birthing tank into the next room where he wanted it. Evree felt and suppressed a feeling of disdain. No wonder he was so corpulent, he had machines doing everything for him. But honesty compelled her to admit that not too terribly far in the past she had been equally lazy, the only difference being that she had had human slaves rather than machines.

She could see, however, why the tank had to be moved. Konaseus' device took up most of the available space.

"If you will accompany me, my queen?" Konaseus gestured to a tiny control booth. "Some shielding is required," he explained. "For mature beings, there are some unpleasant side effects."

Evree followed him obediently enough, though if asked, she would have said that being in such an enclosed space with Konaseus was not something she would have done by choice.

"If we are in here without even a window to look out," Evree commented. "Then precisely how am I to observe your device's operation?"

Konaseus smiled the condescending smile of the technologically superior. "Here." He flicked a button, and a screen lit up with a view of the young swimming in their tank. "There is no transparent material that I have found that will provide adequate shielding."

"If it is so dangerous," Evree argued, aware that she was skating on thin ice, but wanting to know. "Then how is it that you are so certain it will not damage the young?" It also, she thought, might provide and excuse if he did have a method for determining that the young were defective.

Again with the condescending smile. "It is only those fully grown who have anything to fear," Konaseus replied. "For them, it will merely stimulate them into maturing more rapidly." He flicked another button, and a low hum ensued, and the tank was illuminated in multi-colored lights. The hum changed pitch, and became a shrill whine that caused Evree to cover her ears with her hands.

Then, abruptly, it all ceased.

"That is all?" Evree asked incredulously. To her eye, the young in the tank looked no different than before.

"It has begun a process," Konaseus explained patiently. "It will take a few hours for the entire process. We have just set it in motion."

"I see," Evree murmured. "Then may we leave here?" She looked at him apologetically. "It is so very close in here."

"Of course, my queen." As they left, he pointed to one of many incomprehensible read-outs on the device. "See here?" He pointed. "This indicates that they have already, collectively, gained ten grams in weight." He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. "Just a few more hours."

"Just a few more hours," Evree echoed. She smiled weakly at him. "We never did finish our tour. Can you show me how you run this all by yourself?"

&&&&&

"I see her," O'Neill announced, unable to keep a tinge of excitement out of his voice. He was hoping to get a few words in with her. Almost as soon as he had the thought, though, it was shot down. "Konaseus is with her."

"What are they doing?" At the moment, Jack and Teal'c were squarely in front of the grate. It didn't leave any room, and Sam couldn't see over their shoulders any better than she could see through them.

"It appears as though they are finishing the tour we started," Teal'c replied.

"I guess that must mean she's already given birth," Daniel observed. "I wonder who's idea the tour was, though."

"Evree's," Jack stated definitely, then rolled his eyes.

"Was this something the two of you planned, sir?" Carter's voice was ever so slightly reproachful. If they'd made a plan, they should have let the rest of them in on it.

As O'Neill shook his head, Teal'c felt compelled to ask, "Then you infer it was Evree's idea from the facial contortions she directed this way?"

"She was trying to wink," Jack explained. "She just can't seem to get the hang of it. But she insists on trying."

"So Evree must have some sort of plan," Daniel mused.

"Or maybe she's just getting the lay of the land," Sam remarked. "None of us has seen any part of this place that might be called a sensitive area. And with all of his technological toys, there's almost got to be one."

"Maybe it's both," O'Neill murmured reflectively. "She might have a plan, but needs more information before she decides it's feasible." A faint ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. "She's not stupid. And she's done pretty good at improvising."

"We know Evree's smart," Daniel commented. "But from what we've seen, Konaseus probably makes it to the genius category. So I suppose the question is, Is Evree smart enough to outwit him?"

"Konaseus may be more intelligent," Teal'c put in. "But I do not believe he has spent much time interacting with others for a long time. That may give Evree an advantage."

"So, basically, we're betting Evree's street smarts over Konaseus' book smarts," Jack said thoughtfully. "I think I'll take a little bit of that action."

"I don't think we have a choice," Daniel stated, and wished he could feel a little more confident about it.


	14. How the Mighty Have Fallen

107

See How the Mighty Have Fallen

Once again, room after unused room, and Evree was fighting the boredom. She was going to have to find a way to get Konaseus to take her through some of the more functional areas of his citadel. "May one inquire why your dwelling is so large when there is only you to inhabit it?" Tones curious, but not unduly so, eyes wide and innocent.

"Preparations for my future greatness, my queen," Konaseus replied. "It will be filled with life soon enough." He gazed down on her. "As soon as we begin breeding our own race, my queen."

Evree fought back the gag reflex. "Surely there is more to it than just empty rooms upon empty rooms. I wish to see what you do, what occupies your time when have no visitors." A deliberate, deep inhale, followed by a simpering smile. "I wish to know you, Konaseus." It was no lie, certainly, but while she wished to know what made him tick so that she could work around it, she was also sure that Konaseus would put an entirely different construction on the words, which, nauseating though it was, would work to her advantage.

The lecherous grin with which he favored her confirmed her suspicions.

&&&&&

The very heart of the citadel. Konaseus had deigned to show Evree his holy of holies. Evree continued to make appreciative noises, and encouraged him to explain things to her. She had never paid much attention to technological devices before, preferring to leave their operation to others. Now, however, she felt she needed to know.

"And what does this do?" she inquired politely, standing in front of yet another array of mysterious buttons and dials.

"Ah, that is for the chaapa'ai," Konaseus replied grandly. "I can monitor its use through the signal and even operate it from here."

"Very impressive," Evree murmured. It was, too. Most Goa'uld did not even attempt to tinker with the Ancient's technology, but merely used it. But this and his internal security system insured that they would not be able to merely slip away quietly. "Why would you wish to operate the chaapa'ai from here, though?" She thought she had an idea, and hoped she was wrong.

Konaseus shrugged. "Many reasons, my inquisitive, little queen," he answered. "The transport of volatile materials for one. Or travel to a dangerous place, when I would send a servitor rather than myself. I can even prevent the chaapa'ai from activating, should I so desire."

That was what Evree had been afraid of. And she knew for a certainty now that Konaseus could not be functional when they were ready to make their escape. With the touch of a button, he would be able to prevent their return to Earth. She had also noticed, but not mentioned, seeing an untidy pile in the corner that was comprised of SG-1's weapons. If she had any doubts before, she had none now. She was going to be their only hope for getting back.

Never had she felt quite so alone.

&&&&&

Finally, Evree had gotten rid of Konaseus. He could no longer contain his impatience to check on the progress of the young symbiotes. Evree had politely demurred, claiming fatigue, and had said that she thought she would take a nap.

He had insisted on escorting her to her room. But once he was gone, Evree left as well. She did not believe he could monitor her unless he was in his control room, and it was there that she headed.

Evree did not attempt to use any of the devices. Despite Konaseus' explanations, she had no notion of how to use them without the possibility of creating a problem that would certainly attract the big man's attention. But she had to figure out a way to keep him from using his controller for the gate. Before she did that, she cautiously tucked the hand weapons that Konaseus had confiscated from her friends in her pockets. The larger ones had to stay. They were too conspicuous, and she simply could not carry them all at once anyway. She finally gave up on it with a sigh. That was not her main purpose.

Evree yanked at the bottom panel of the gate control and it came off in her hands so easily that her momentum sent her back to sit down with a thump. Now, she was faced with an array of crystals in every hue imaginable. She had known what colors signified which operations, once upon a time, but had not held onto the memory as it did not interest her.

It interested her mightily now.

Finally, she just started pulling crystals out at random. As many as she could as quickly as she could. Suddenly, everything on the machine went dark, save the screen, which lit up. With a count down.

"Oh no, Draylea," Evree murmured, biting her lip. "What have I done?"

&&&&&

They watched as SG-3 and 8 prepared to leave. Only half an hour to the deadline.

General Hammond had refused to let her go along, so Janet had to settle for briefing the medics before they made their departure.

"I don't know if you'll have any wounded to deal with, Lt. Husted," she said. "But I know that if they're still alive, you'll have an addict going into acute withdrawal. Depending on how far progressed her withdrawal is, you may need an anti-convulsive and restraints."

As it was not widely known that Evree had accompanied SG-1 on their mission, the lieutenant could only think of one 'her' in the group. "Somehow I can't imagine Major Carter becoming addicted to anything," he remarked.

"It's not Major Carter," Dr. Frasier informed him. "Your patient is a Goa'uld."

&&&&&&

Evree knew she had to think fast now. She had no doubt that there was some sort of alarm system to alert Konaseus to her meddling. She slipped on her bracelet, and for good measure, picked up Teal'c's staff. No point in trying to be stealthy anymore.

As her last act before she left the control room, Evree ripped the necklace off and flung it back inside.

&&&&&&

Daniel just happened to look Sam's way in time to see her give a deep shudder. "What was that all about?" he inquired solicitously.

"I just had a gruesome thought," she confessed. She would have let it go at that, but Daniel's questioning look said he wanted to know the details. "What if Konaseus tests out whether the symbiotes are defective or not by implanting one in one of us?"

"Let's not borrow trouble, Carter." Jack had caught the last remark and joined them. "We're in enough trouble as it is."

"Yes, sir." Sam looked a little shame-faced, as if she had been caught doing something wrong. But just sitting in this cell with nothing to do, no way to facilitate their release, the mind just naturally seemed to gravitate to the grim and dire. And no one more than she hoped that her nightmare notion was nothing more than that.

But seeing the looks on the faces of her companions, Sam could see that she had infected them with her nightmares now.

&&&&&

As Evree left the control room, she saw one of the ever-present servitors, and she was not sure whether or not that was a good sign. It might just mean business as usual, and the alarm had not yet been raised. Hopefully. She made to step around it, she really did not need its guidance, she knew the way she was going, but it moved to block her path.

"Take me to the cell where my friends are," she demanded. Perhaps it had been programmed to dog her steps and give aid where none was needed.

The mechanoid remained immobile. She tried to go around it again and again, it blocked her way. Evree felt a cold chill. The alarm must have gone out then, and she was to be detained.

She looked at the staff she held, but it was really for targets further away than this. She had the small arms on her though, so she pulled out the zat and used it.

There was no apparent effect, but this time when Evree tried to go around the annoying, little machine, it did not move.

Evree made her way through the corridors at a fast walk. What she really wanted to do was run as fast as her feet would carry her, but prudence said such action would be the height of folly. She could run headlong into Konaseus himself and be well and truly caught, with no way to save her friends.

She just hoped she could get them out and they could make their way to the gate before Konaseus could repair the damage and halt their escape.

&&&&&&

"I see Evree," Teal'c, the one currently watching out the grate remarked. "And she is carrying a staff."

"Heads up, boys and girls," Jack said, springing to his feet. "I think it's time to blow this joint."

"How is she going to get us out of here?" Daniel asked. "I really doubt that..," He broke off abruptly as Teal'c flattened himself against one of the side walls and motioned for them to do the same.

What was left of the door swung drunkenly on its hinges after the staff blast, and SG-1 lost no time in taking advantage of it.

"Evree, how did you..?" Sam began, but Evree cut her off.

"There is no time," she said urgently, passing out the side arms. "We must make all speed. I will try to tell you when it is safe."

They all took off at a fast trot, but as they rounded the first corner, they met their first obstacle.

Konaseus' pet was out again, and sat blocking their path, nonchalantly cleaning its face.

"Move aside," Evree ordered in Goa'uld voice.

The cat blinked at her, then got up off its haunches and began to advance on them.

"It does not appear to that the beast will respond to your orders any more," Teal'c observed. He raised his staff and shot the creature, right between the eyes.

The big feline's lifeless form crumpled almost gracefully to the floor, crowned by the smoldering remains of its head.

They took off again.

They were almost about to make their exit from the building when Konaseus' voice boomed from behind them. "Halt!"

They all skidded to a stop and reluctantly turned around to see the citadel's master standing with a staff aimed right at O'Neill.

"Drop your weapons," he commanded. SG-1 complied, but Evree kept the hand with the bracelet tucked in the folds of her garments. She did not believe that he had seen it.

"Your betrayal both wounds and puzzles me, my queen," Konaseus commented in disappointment. "But as I have not one, but five symbiotes, I believe that your services can now be dispensed with. Once I have claimed my rightful place, I shall find a queen who is more tractable." He took more careful aim with the staff.

"Get down!" Evree shouted, and raised the hand with the bracelet.

The predominant expression on Konaseus' face initially, was one of utter shock. Even after all that had happened, he simply could not believe that Evree would harm him. Or perhaps it was that he truly believed tht he could not die. Surprise soon gave way to pain, though, as Evree kept her weapon on him, until at last, the big man toppled over, like a mighty tree being felled.

Evree stopped, and staggered back a pace.

"Are you all right, hon?" O'Neill asked, knowing it was a stupid question, but also a reflexive one.

"I'll be all right," Evree lied. She forced a smile at him. "But we still need to make haste."

&&&&

"I'm sorry, sir," the gate tech said. "But I can't open an outgoing wormhole to PR-862."

Hammond looked at the control board. He didn't fully understand the mechanics, but he knew enough that the fact nothing was lit up in red meant there was no detectable malfunction on their end of things. "See if you can establish contact elsewhere," he suggested.

The technician obliged, and so did the gate, producing its usual effects.

"Cancel that," Hammond ordered. "Try PR-862 one more time."

The tech gave it another try, and still, no results. "It looks like we've been locked out, sir," he reported miserably.

"I can see that," General Hammond replied, forcing himself to keep his tones even. "Let's just hope that SG-1 isn't locked in."

&&&&&

In between gasps for breath, Evree filled them in on what she had done as they sped down the forest path. Only adrenalin and the death-grip she had on O'Neill's belt enabled her to keep up at all.

O'Neill halted abruptly as the slight pull on his belt suddenly became a heavy drag, as Evree sank to the ground, her slender body going into convulsions.

"Evree!" O'Neill immediately sank to her side.

&&&&&

It did not take long for the myriad of servitors to find the lifeless bodies of both Konaseus and his pet. As information for nearly every contingency was pre-programmed into them, they immediately went into action. Putting the bodies on wheeled stretchers, then moving those stretchers to a pre-designated place.

A room containing a sarcophagus.

It actually took them very little time. The robots deposited their creator in the sarcophagus, and sat silently by as the lid closed on it.

&&&&&

After the briefest of discussions, they were on their way again, pelting through the woods as fast as they could. O'Neill now had Teal'c's staff, since the Jaffa, easily being the strongest of them was carrying the shuddering, twitching form of Evree.

Once they reached the gate, by tacit agreement, Teal'c and O'Neill switched their burdens. Jack seemed to barely notice Daniel frantically pushing buttons on the D.H.D.

"Hang in there, kid," he murmured to Evree. "Just a little bit longer." He hoped it wasn't a lie, that the gate wasn't shut down. It would work, it had to work.

As though reading his thoughts and granting his wishes, the wormhole obligingly opened, and they practically flew through it.

&&&&&

Konaseus pulled himself stiffly out of the sarcophagus. He stood there for a moment, just getting his bearings. Dying had a way of rattling a person's brain. As the events leading up to the present moment became clearer in his mind, the more his features became suffused with rage. A rage that grew when he saw his beloved pet lying near, so still. He gently lifted the creature up, and with no small difficulty, placed the beast within. It took some arranging, since the device was designed for humanoids, but he managed. Then, he strode out of the room without a backward glance, heading for the control room.

If Konaseus had been furious before, now, his blood ran cold with fear. He looked at the array of crystals scattered on the floor, some of them cracked, as Evree had had no reason to take care. He had taken steps to insure that his citadel would not be used by anyone in the unlikely possibility of his death. And now, he realized, the whole thing was going to blow up in his face.

Literally.

In the sarcophagus room, the lid slid back, and a large feline form emerged, mewing as pathetically as a hungry kitten.

And then, the citadel exploded.

&&&&

O'Neill was both relieved and annoyed to see SG-8 waiting in the gate room. "Why didn't you meet us on the other side?" he demanded, laying a still convulsing Evree on a waiting gurney. "You had to know we had a medical emergency."

"We were going to, sir," Lt. Husted replied. "But we couldn't open an outgoing wormhole there." He finished strapping Evree to the gurney, and it was whisked off to the infirmary, and the medics followed it, seeing as everyone else was hale and hearty.

"Do you suppose Konaseus did that with his machine?" Sam wondered. "To keep us from getting reinforcements?"

"It is just as likely that it was a result of Evree's tampering," Teal'c pointed out. But the mere mention of Evree turned their thoughts to her.

"I hope she's gong to be all right," Daniel muttered. He had been the first to befriend the Goa'uld queen, and besides genuinely liking her, he felt a certain responsibility to her as well.

"She'll be just fine," Jack stated firmly. But there was a haunted look in his eyes that said he too, had his doubts.

&&&&&

They had raced through the post-mission debriefing as quickly as General Hammond would allow, and now SG-1 was assembled outside medical, waiting for word of Evree. The only reason they weren't inside, watching the battle for her life was that Dr. Frasier had flatly refused them admittance.

Now, Janet appeared in the doorway, looking somewhat worse for the wear. As one, the whole team took a step forward.

Frasier held up a hand. "Just Colonel O'Neill, for now," she ordered softly.

The rest of the group fell back while Jack accompanied the physician on in.

O'Neill was finding the whole situation disconcerting as hell. "She made it, didn't she?" he demanded nervously.

Dr. Frasier nodded tiredly. "Evree is still alive," she informed him. "Although it's still probably going to be a while before she completely shakes the effects of that drug."

Something still didn't feel right to O'Neill. "Okay, what aren't you telling me?"

"Draylea didn't make it," Frasier replied. "I'm not sure she would have even if you could have gotten them here sooner. The withdrawal caused congestive heart failure, and we couldn't revive her."

Jack felt like someone had just delivered a roundhouse to his gut. "Where's Evree?"

"There." Janet pointed. There was a second tank next to the one that housed Evree's young. "We thought it best to keep her isolated from her children until we were sure there were no residual traces of the drug left in her system."

O'Neill crossed the room to the tank the queen Goa'uld occupied. Even in her natural form, she seemed to be twitching from the effects of withdrawal. He pressed his hands and face against the side of the tank, frustrated that this was the closest contact he could make.

Despite the seizures, the symbiote swam over the where Jack stared in at her. Unblinking, alien eyes regarded him, and O'Neill thought that if he had one shred of sanity, he should see the thing in the tank as totally repulsive. Instead, he ran the back of his hand down the side of the container, as though giving her a caress. "I love you," he said softly enough so that no one else could hear. For all he knew, she couldn't either. But he'd already put it off too long. Way too long.

&&&&&

There was a small, very subdued memorial service in Draylea's honor. Most of those assembled found it depressing that the one to whom the service would mean the most was unable to be present.

&&&&&&

Okay, okay, I'm through being evil now. Things will definitely pick up from here. After all, I did promise you a happy ending, didn't I?


	15. Feeling Much Better

115

Feeling Much Better

One month later.

"She seems to be completely free of the drug now," Dr. Frasier was explaining to O'Neill on his daily visit. "I've been thinking about putting her in with her children. At least it would be some kind of company for her."

"She doesn't like being all alone," Jack agreed softly, hand on the side of the tank. He couldn't believe how much he missed her. And the most frustrating part of it all was that here she was, he saw her every day that he wasn't off on a mission, but he couldn't communicate with her, or hold her, or.., Enough of that, he told himself sternly. "Has there been any word from anybody about finding her a new host?"

Janet shook her head. "The Tok'ra are still treading lightly where Evree is concerned, although they're not quite as suspicious of her as they were at first. Marvath has been giving them some very positive reports. And as far as Washington goes..,"

"We could all die of old age before the red tapeworms and chair warmers make a decision," O'Neill finished sourly.

"At least she's still alive," Frasier pointed out gently.

"You call being cooped up in a tank with no one to talk to living?" O'Neill asked. "I don't. And I doubt if Evree does either."

&&&&&&

A few days later, Jack went into medical for his daily visit. But when he peered into the tank of immature symbiotes (the other was gone), he failed to register the larger form of a queen Goa'uld. He double-checked, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. No, Evree definitely wasn't in there. He turned to see Dr. Frasier behind him. "Where is Evree?" he demanded.

"I don't know," the physician admitted. "She was gone when I got here. But the night staff is very carefully not saying anything. Which says to me..,"

"I know what it says," O'Neill interrupted, too angry to keep his temper in check. He started for the door, intending to go straight to General Hammond's office to get some answers. But he was halted by a gurney being wheeled in.

The woman on the gurney was one he didn't recognize, although her build, coloring and features were not entirely unlike Evree's.., Draylea's, he corrected himself. But there was a certain look to her, a pallor and a lack of muscle tone which suggested she'd been bedridden for quite a while.

The newcomer turned her eyes towards him, and a faint smile lit up her features. "O'Neill." One word, in a hoarse, raspy voice which made Jack think that the vocal cords hadn't been used recently either. But it was enough for him.

"Evree?" O'Neill suddenly seemed to be rooted to the spot, and just stood by, watching as she was transferred from the gurney to a regular bed. How could it be? One day they were being stonewalled, and the next, Evree was spirited away in the wee hours only to return with a new host. Then, he knew, when Curtis entered the room.

"Colonel O'Neill." Jack couldn't tell if the guy was happy to see him or not. "I hear you've been a regular visitor here lately."

O'Neill reflected that Curtis probably knew a hell of a lot more than he was comfortable with. But he could make nice. For a while, anyway. "Why didn't you let us know you were getting Evree a new host?"

"We're not required to give you progress reports, Colonel," Curtis frosted. But he did thaw enough to add, "She'd hardly be a source of information if we had no way to communicate with her."

Without realizing it, Jack thought aloud. "I'm surprised they didn't just lock her away somewhere to interrogate her between experiments."

Curtis shook his head. "From the reports I've read, the Tok'ra are starting to warm up to her. We can't afford to alienate them." He cocked his head at O'Neill. "And from some of the other reports I've gotten, I sincerely doubt that she'd talk to us if we kept her away from you." His attention abruptly turned from O'Neill to the subject of their discussion. "No hard feelings?"

Evree's eyes hardened slightly, but only for a moment. "I suppose not," she replied, using the Goa'uld voice. It seemed to work better than the host's at least for the time being. "At least, not this time."

Curtis laughed, then turned and left.

O'Neill immediately gravitated to Evree's bedside, while the medical staff discreetly melted away to give them a modicum of privacy. He had, on rough approximation, about a million questions. But the first words to pass his lips were not a question. "I've missed you," he murmured, stroking a pale cheek.

"It is good to be able to feel again," Evree said, eyes closing for a moment in sheer contentment. "I have missed you as well, O'Neill."

"What's her name?" O'Neill during the last month had come to grips with the fact that if he was going to have a relationship with a Goa'uld, weird as that seemed, he was going to have to deal with the whole idea of the host as a separate entity as well.

"Who's name?" Evree asked weakly. Then, enlightenment came. "Oh, you mean my new host. This body has been kept alive by artificial means for years. There is nothing left of the original personality. It is very lonely in here."

"You'll get used to it," Jack assured her. "Evree, honey, when you were in the tank, could you hear anything that I said?"

Another smile, although even that seemed to be an effort for her. "I heard everything, O'Neill," she answered. "I hope it will not preclude you saying it again, though."

"I love you." Jack bent down and kissed her forehead, then allowed himself a brief taste of her lips.

&&&&&&

SG-1 took lunch together that day, and perhaps needless to say, Evree was the main topic of conversation.

"Of course it's going to be quite a while until she's up and about," Sam pointed out. "Since her new host was on life support for so long, all the muscles are sure to be atrophied pretty badly."

"Yeah, I know," O'Neill sighed. He wasn't all that unhappy about it. He seemed to the rest of the team to be more relaxed than he had been since their ill-fated mission to PR-862. "Dr. Frasier says that for now, she's even going to be on intravenous feeding because she doesn't have full control of the muscles she needs to swallow."

"I doubt that she will need physical therapy for too long," Teal'c predicted. "Evree will be very motivated to get the body into good repair."

"Are you still the only person that gets to see her?" Daniel queried. "Or are the rest of us going to be allowed to visit soon?"

&&&&

By the time Jack was able to make his next visit, the appearance of the infirmary had changed drastically. At least, as far as the area around Evree's bed was concerned. Flowers, balloon bouquets, even stuffed animals, not to mention enough cards to paper a medium-sized room.

O'Neill let out a low whistle. "I didn't know you were so popular," he remarked.

"Nor did I." Even though it had only been twenty-four hours, she sounded stronger. Certainly her voice didn't sound so.., rusty.

O'Neill produced a sack. "I didn't get you anything.., yet," he announced. "This is just some stuff from home that I thought would make being stuck here more bearable."

"Perfume?" Evree inquired. "Now that I am able to smell again, I would like something besides antiseptics to smell."

"What about all the.., oh, never mind." Jack had been about to suggest that she smell some of her flowers, but he could see where she might have issues there. He fished around in the bag. "I just grabbed the first one I came to," he mumbled. It still amazed him how many scents and cosmetics now occupied his bathroom counter, and how quickly Evree had accumulated them.

Evree actually managed to reach up for the tiny bottle, but when O'Neill deposited it in her hand, it slipped from her grasp to land on the mattress beside her, soon to be joined by the hand. Tears of frustration sprang into her eyes.

"I'll do it." O'Neill retrieved the bottle. "Even for a 'superior being', it's going to take time before you can do everything you used to."

"I never claimed to be a superior being," Evree squeaked indignantly.

"No, you didn't," Jack agreed. "But it made you stop crying, didn't it?"

She tried to glare at him for his manipulation of her, but couldn't quite manage it. "I cannot even sit up on my own," Evree remarked sadly. "O'Neill, would you hold me? I want to remember what it is like to have your arms around me."

Jack settled onto the edge of the bed and, mindful of the tubes and wires, lifted her into his arms. Evree's head came to rest on his shoulder, and snuggled into it. Her way of letting him know that she would have put her head there even if she had had the strength to lift it herself. "I wish I could put my arms around you as well," she murmured.

He kissed the tip of her nose. "You can make it up to me when you're better."

&&&&&

Sam stuck her head inside the infirmary. "Hi." She knew Evree as soon as she saw her. The new host bore a strong resemblance to the old.

"Hello, Samantha." Now, when Evree smiled, the corners of her lips didn't quiver with the effort. "It is good to see you."

As Sam neared the bed so they could converse without shouting, her foot struck something. She looked down to see a plastic shopping bag. "What's this?" she murmured curiously.

"Things O'Neill brought me from his home," Evree replied. "But I am unable to utilize them. I cannot even lift a bottle of perfume on my own."

"Let's see what we've got here." Carter peeked into the bag. The first item she unearthed was a hairbrush, and Evree's face lit up hopefully. Sam laughed. "Okay, I'll brush your hair."

&&&&&

Evree was having very little time to feel alone. If one or more members of SG-1 or any of the other teams that had had contact with her weren't visiting, her time was taken up by tedious but necessary physical therapy.

Still, it was something of a surprise to her when General Hammond paid her a visit. It also made her feel ashamed when she remembered how the whole mission to PR-862 had been thrown into disarray because of her. she remained silent and kept her eyes downcast, certain that he was here to reprimand her for her shortcomings.

"How are you feeling?" Evree looked at him curiously. It was the first thing most of her well-wishers said. It did not sound like the beginning of a reprimand.

"Fine, thank you, sir," she said carefully, trying to hide her confusion. If he was not here to berate her, then why was he here? She decided to wade in and admit her guilt before he could accuse her. "I'm sorry, General, about the mission. It was all my fault."

"The mission?" Hammond echoed incredulously. "Is that why you think I came here, Evree? To blame you for the mission going wrong?" Seeing the answer plain as print on her features, he shook his head. "Evree, I was going to apologize to you for not taking better precautions to keep you safe."

"But.., but..," Evree stuttered. "You couldn't have known. It was no fault of yours."

"It wasn't your fault either," Hammond assured her gently. "It just happened, and I'm thankful that we got you back alive." He paused a moment, then added, "I'm sorry about Draylea. I know she was more than just a host to you."

"She was my first true friend," Evree replied, choking up a bit. "Goa'uld are not known for their skills at making friends."

General Hammond looked around at all the get well cards and gifts. "I know one who does okay."

&&&&&&

SG-1 had gathered in the mess hall for breakfast a week later when they were surprised to see Dr. Frasier pushing Evree in, a wheelchair.

Evree returned all the smiles she was receiving. "Janet says I am allowed to eat real food today," she explained excitedly. She had been thrilled beyond words to have the I.V. removed.

"Small portions of easily digested foods," Dr. Frasier amended. It almost sounded like the continuation of a lecture. "You know, of course, that you're not going to be able to feed yourself yet?"

"I'll do it," O'Neill volunteered quickly. He'd like to feel like he had some small part in Evree's recovery.

Janet eyed him appraisingly and then nodded. "I'll just go get a tray with what she ought to be able to handle and then leave you to it," she decided. "I've got quite a backlog of paperwork from devoting so much time to one patient. You just bring her back to medical when she's done."

"No problem," Jack assured her. Then, as Frasier left to get Evree's breakfast, he looked and saw the patient's woebegone expression. "She was just teasing, hon," he soothed. "It was an excuse to let you be here without medical supervision for a while."

"Evree," Sam added. "If Janet had a problem with taking care of sick and injured people, she wouldn't be a doctor."

Soon, the doctor returned with a covered tray. "Be sure she eats slowly," she directed O'Neill. "And for the time being, she has to drink through a straw, not straight out of the glass."

"I can handle it, Doc," O'Neill said mildly. Seeing that the physician was about to open her mouth again, he beat her to the punch. "And if anything goes wrong, I'll call you."

Janet laughed. "Okay. You don't need me here." She stopped and laid a hand on Evree's shoulder. "Enjoy your breakfast."

Daniel was just on the other side of Evree, and he lifted the cover from the tray. "Well, that looks good," he remarked, trying to inject a note of enthusiasm into his voice. Dr. Frasier didn't know Evree's likes and dislikes the way they did.

Teal'c peered at the contents of the tray. To him, it looked like what it was, invalid food. "Orange juice, milk, and is that applesauce?"

"Looks like it," Jack confirmed. "And cream of wheat and scrambled.., things." Just in the nick of time, he remembered Evree's horror at the thought of eating 'ova'. Since her first memorable breakfast had featured eggs sunny side up, he figured that she wouldn't recognize scrambled eggs as the same thing, and he decided to try them on her before she realized what they were. He picked up the spoon, that being the only utensil on the tray, and scooped some up. "Open wide," he said.

Evree obeyed, and chewed thoughtfully. "I think the flavor might be improved by a little sodium chloride," she remarked.

"I wish you could learn to say salt like everyone else," O'Neill grumbled good-naturedly. But he added a little salt and tried her out on another bite. "How's that?"

"Edible," was her pronouncement. "But I really am quite thirsty. May I have some of the juice?"

"Orange or cow?" Jack teased, earning himself a glare.

Progress was slow, as per Janet's instructions, and also by Evree's current abilities to chew and swallow. Daniel could see why Dr. Frasier had brought such small portions of everything.

Evree refused to even try the cream of wheat. "It very much resembles oatmeal, and I do not like oatmeal," she stated firmly.

"You are not going to get that body back to health unless you get the proper nutrition prescribed by your physician," Teal'c scolded, giving her a stern look.

"Teal'c's right," Sam chipped in. "Do you want to have to stay in that wheelchair forever?"

Evree was already beginning to feel picked on, but now Daniel delivered the coup de grace.

"Those scrambled 'things' were eggs," he informed her softly.

Evree's eyes grew round as saucers, then her mouth opened to make an indignant remark.

When it did, Jack neatly slid a spoonful of the cereal in it, grinning all the while.

&&&&&

Another week went by, and Evree was no longer a nine days' wonder. And even though there was more physical therapy as she grew ever stronger, she still found herself with time on her hands. After much consideration, she decided to spend her free time catching up on her soaps.

O'Neill walked in while she was engaged in the pursuit. As soon as he saw what she was watching, he made a face. "I thought maybe being away from them so long you'd have given it up," he sighed. At least, he'd hoped. "You don't still think that crap is going to give you any insight into the behavior of human beings, do you?"

Evree shook her head and patted the bed beside her, scooching over to give him some room to sit. "No," she admitted. "I know it is melodramatic nonsense. But I like it."

"You like some strange things," Jack observed, settling in place next to her. He was glad that in positioning himself to face her, it put his back to the t.v.

"I must," she teased. "I like you, don't I?"

O'Neill arched an eyebrow at her. "If you're going to be like that," he threatened, features totally impassive. "Then I guess I just won't tell you the good news."

"What good news?" Evree demanded imperiously.

"Acting like you're still queen of all you survey isn't going to get it out of me," O'Neill replied. But his poker face was starting to erode.

"And you are teasing me," Evree responded, finally having caught on. She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Please tell me."

Jack laughed. "Busted," he confessed. "I've gotten everything filled out in triplicate or better, and finally got the go ahead. Once you're on your feet again, we're off to my cabin for a couple of weeks."

"Really?" She was practically glowing at the revelation. She did not believe she could be so happy, when she suddenly remembered something and the happiness received a slight check. "With or without surveillance?"

O'Neill sighed. He couldn't blame her, he didn't like it either. "I know it's a pain in the ass, but as has been pointed out many a time, you're too valuable to take chances with." He picked up one of her hands and kissed it. "They did promise to keep it as low-key as possible."

"I know it is a necessity, O'Neill," Evree replied. "I just wish it were not so. I would like to have some time completely alone with you. Without having to worry about who may be listening."

"That'll teach you to be so noisy," O'Neill said with a grin. Then, because he felt he ought to try to reassure her, he said, "Maybe someday, the security won't be necessary." But his heart wasn't in it. As long as Evree was who she was, the security would always be necessary.


	16. Quality Time

122

Quality Time

"O'Neill, I have been thinking." Evree had that day just begun re-teaching her legs to walk, and Jack had decided it merited a celebration. If she didn't know better, she could swear he was taking her out of the complex.

"Didn't sprain anything, did you?" O'Neill was in exceptionally high spirits. It made Evree wonder what he was up to.

"Sprain what?" she queried crossly. Then, she got it. "O'Neill, I am being serious. Do you suppose you might be able to pay attention for a minute or two?"

"So, what's up?" Jack shifted gears instantly. He hoped she wasn't going to tell him something that would ruin his good mood.

"I saw that young man brought into the infirmary today," Evree stated, apropos of nothing, from O'Neill's point of view. "He has barely begun living, and Janet tells me it is likely that he will never walk again."

"I'd heard about that," O'Neill replied cautiously, wondering what it had to do with either of them. "But these things happen. You have to learn to deal with them."

Evree all but ignored his remarks. "Janet informed me that there are many such as he," she mused. "And it seems so terribly sad to me when there is a possible solution."

"A solution?" O'Neill was all ears now. "What kind of solution could you have for paralysis?"

"How many of those poor unfortunates would balk at being host to one of my children if it meant they would be able to walk again?" she asked pointedly. "Marvath told me that besides having no queen, one of the biggest difficulties that the Tok'ra face is that it has become difficult for them to find a new host when one is dying."

O'Neill saw where she was going with this. "So, with one fell swoop, you're planning on making the lame walk and injecting some new life into the dying Tok'ra society." He mulled it over for a moment. "It might work. If the bureaucrats will allow it. They'll probably want to study it for years, first."

"We have years," Evree pointed out. "For it will take years for my children to be mature enough to take hosts." Now that she had laid out her proposal in full, her confidence began to wane a bit. "Do you think it is a good idea? A possible one?"

O'Neill wheeled her into an elevator and pushed the button. Then, he bent and kissed the top of her head. "It's a great idea," he answered in a quiet voice that in some ways carried much more conviction than overwhelming exuberance. "I just don't want you to be disappointed if everyone doesn't jump on the bandwagon right away."

"Do you mean that people would rather be ill and crippled rather than be hosts?" Evree asked in dismay.

"There might be some," Jack admitted. "But probably not all that many. I was talking about the people who are in a position to say yes or no to the whole thing." O'Neill decided they'd given that subject enough of a workout for the moment, since they wouldn't be able to do anything about it on their own anyway. "But, as you said, we've got years to work it out." The elevator came to a halt and he wheeled her out.

Evree looked at her current surroundings in surprise, then closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, seemingly to be in utter bliss. Jack grinned. Most of what he could smell was gas and exhaust fumes, odors that nature's scents had trouble penetrating. He let her have a moment, however, before he started pushing her chair towards the parking area.

"Did Janet allow this, O'Neill?" Evree inquired uncertainly. She had a strong suspicion that she wasn't supposed to be out, and didn't know whether she should be pleased that he put his celebration of her accomplishment, small though it was, before obeying doctor's orders, or cross that he cared so little about her well being that he would put her in jeopardy.

"She not only okayed it, she encouraged it," Jack replied reassuringly. "It was getting pretty obvious that you were starting to get a little stir crazy." He saw her puzzled expression as he lifted her into the car. "We could tell you needed to get out," he translated.

"Well, I know we are not going dancing," Evree remarked wistfully as O'Neill settled in next to her, having finally won the battle of getting her wheelchair stowed in the back. "So what are we doing?"

"I thought I'd fall back on that old standby, dinner and a movie," O'Neill answered. There was something else on the books too, but he was going to surprise her with that.

&&&&&

The evening had gone pretty smoothly. As far as dinner went, O'Neill had been happy to discover that Evree liked Italian food. The movie though, was something he wouldn't forget. The choices had been between several chick flicks or one of the evil aliens taking over the world genre. The past few years, Jack had given the latter a miss, for obvious reasons. But then, he decided what the hell, he had promised her a movie.

Even Jack couldn't have anticipated Evree's reaction, and certainly none of the other movie patrons, some of whom found it out and out annoying.

Almost the entire length of what was supposed to be a grim, gripping drama, Evree laughed.

It was good to hear her laugh.

&&&&&

"You're sure they're still closed?" O'Neill asked. He knew Evree's eyes were closed, not because he could see them, he couldn't, but because of what she was not saying.

"They are closed, O'Neill," Evree grumbled. "They have been almost ever since we left the theater. When may I open them?"

"Soon," he promised. He'd given careful consideration to where he should park the chair before he allowed her to open her eyes, and he'd finally settled on the living room in front of the Christmas tree. A lot of years he didn't even bother, but he'd put up the tree this year because he thought Evree would like it. He stood behind her and let his hands come gently to rest on Evree's shoulders. "Okay, you can open them now, hon," he allowed. He almost held his breath waiting for her reaction.

O'Neill did not have to wait long. The moment he had given her the go-ahead, Evree's eyes had flown open. A delighted gasp escaped her lips as she saw the tree, glittering, shining, utterly beautiful to her eyes. It was therefore some minutes before she realized where they were.

"We are in your home, O'Neill." It may have been a statement, but the voice making it was full of questions.

Jack sighed at how she'd worded things. Like she was still some sort of frequent house-guest. He knelt beside the chair, hands on the armrest and looked up at her. "Yes, we're home," he said, putting plenty of emphasis on the words. She usually wasn't so slow on the uptake.

Evree got it. "Our home?" she murmured incredulously.

"Yours and mine," O'Neill affirmed. "Your stuff is here, this is where you stay when you're not on base, and this is where the person that loves you lives. Doesn't that make it home?"

Evree's eyes misted over. "O'Neill," she said in a choked voice. She got no further, but leaned over to wrap her arms around him.

It was quite a few minutes before the emotions eased off enough to permit conversation again.

"Do you want to know what the worst part of it was?" Evree mumbled in his ear. "Of being in the tank with no host?"

"What?" O'Neill loosened his grasp on her and rocked back on his heels so he could look at her.

"Even though you visited me each day," Evree began, suddenly feeling a little shy, and averting her eyes. "I feared that by the time I did have a new host, you would have found someone else."

"That's just silly talk," O'Neill scolded gently, lifting her out of the chair and depositing her on the sofa so he could snuggle up to her. "Did you really think I'd be visiting you every day just to dump you?"

Evree nestled into his shoulder. "I thought that the more you saw of me that way, the more you would think of me as Goa'uld rather than as a woman."

Jack tipped back her chin with a finger, making her look at him. "And now you know that you were completely wrong, don't you?"

"Perhaps an effect of the withdrawal?" Evree suggested. Her head had always known that a man as honorable as O'Neill would never do that to her. It had been her heart that needed convincing.

O'Neill laughed softly. "If that's what it takes for you to deal with it," he remarked. He leaned back against the sofa cushions. cuddling her against his chest. "This is nice."

"Very nice," Evree agreed. "But it is also getting quite late. Will Janet not scold you for keeping me out so long?"

Jack gave her an extra little squeeze. "I guess she got busy and forgot to tell you," he said mysteriously, knowing that it was nothing of the sort. Frasier had deliberately not told Evree so that O'Neill could give her the news as a sort of pre-Christmas present.

"Forgot what?" Evree demanded suspiciously.

"That from here on out, you're an outpatient," he answered with a grin.

"Outpatient?" Evree echoed. "Does that mean I not longer have to stay in the infirmary nearly all the time? That I will be able to be here? Sleep in your.., our bed?" The questions came fast and furious, as if she were receiving the answers as quickly as she could ask. "Does that mean that we shall be able to..," Her voice trailed away. They had been apart for so long that she actually felt a little awkward asking about it.

O'Neill was a little bit taken aback. He'd seldom seen outspoken Evree at a loss for words. "Yes, yes, yes," he replied to the first three questions. "As for that last one, Doc Frasier thought I ought to leave it up to you to decide when you're ready."

"I shall have to think on it for a moment," Evree murmured through a yawn. Despite the fact that she'd spent the whole evening in her wheelchair, tonight had still been more activity than Evree had engaged in since acquiring her new host.

Jack was about to ask how long she wanted to think about it when he realized that she had dropped off to sleep.

&&&&&

"Daniel, I need to ask you a favor." Evree had laid in wait in this corridor until her prey had appeared, and tedious it had been too, with every passing person asking if they could take her somewhere. She had grown weary of explaining that she was precisely where she intended to be.

"A weekend at home seems to have put some color in your cheeks," Daniel remarked. "So, what's the favor?"

"I wish you to take me shopping, please." The request was accompanied by such a pleading look that she might be begging for her life.

Daniel hesitated. Taking a woman out shopping was not generally on his list of fun things to do. And besides.., "Won't Jack take you?"

"I understand that it is customary for a present to be a surprise," Evree replied seriously. "It would hardly be a surprise if O'Neill went with me to get it."

"Point taken," Daniel conceded. "I guess that means that you're going Christmas shopping." He mentally cringed at the thought, not only of taking Evree to shop at all, but in stores full of holiday shoppers.

"O'Neill had to explain to me about Christmas," Evree said. "Because I asked the purpose of the pretty tree that he put up in the living room. He took me shopping yesterday."

Daniel grinned. He doubted if Jack had cared for the idea any more than he did, but living with her didn't give him much of an out. "You know," he hedged. "I'm not really all that good with shopping. Maybe Sam or Dr. Frasier..,"

"No." Evree dismissed the suggestion immediately. "I wanted you to take me because I simply do no know what to get, and I thought that being the same gender, you might have more insight."

"I see." Daniel did see too. And could see no way out of it without being churlish. "When did you want to go?"

Evree beamed at him. "Thank you, Daniel. Would this afternoon be suitable?"

&&&&&&

"How did Evree like getting to spend the weekend at home?" Sam inquired. She had felt, and suppressed, a surge of jealously when O'Neill and the Goa'uld had first gotten together. Intellectually, she knew, and had always known, that that was a dead end as far as she was concerned. And besides genuinely liking Evree, the two of them just seemed so.., right.

"The best medicine she's had to date," O'Neill confirmed. "The night out may have been a bit much for her. She fell asleep on the sofa." He stifled the grin that was threatening to break out. Evree hadn't even stirred when he'd gotten her undressed and tucked into bed. The next morning she had insisted on 'making up for her thoughtless behavior'. She might still be a little lacking in the mobility department, but she more than made up for it in enthusiasm. He gave himself a mental shake. No need to go there now. "I think I made a mistake putting up a tree for her," he remarked a little ruefully. "Not only did I have to spend a couple of hours explaining Christmas to her, but then she insisted that I take her shopping for Christmas presents."

Sam smiled. For a Goa'uld, or even a Tok'ra, Evree could be very generous. "Does that mean that I can pump you for information about what she got us?" she asked ingenuously.

"I am sworn to secrecy," O'Neill stated. "But I did want to ask your opinion on something, Carter." He extracted a velvet box from his pocket. "Do you think she'll like this?" he inquired as he opened the box.

&&&&&&

Daniel removed his glasses for a moment and rubbed his eyes wearily. If Jack had had to go through anything like this for each and every gift Evree bought, he felt for him. He had to admit that he wasn't that much help though, other than to shoot down her ideas, which were either overly extravagant or just.., not something you'd want to find under the Christmas tree. But he was starting to feel like he didn't know Jack as well as he thought he did.

"Perhaps some of those latex sheaths he wears when we..," Evree started to suggest.

"No." Daniel cut her off as firmly as he possibly could. He didn't even want to imagine O'Neill's reaction at unwrapping a box of condoms.

Evree pouted. "We've been looking for hours," she groused, which was certainly no lie. "And I have yet to receive any useful input from you."

"I know," Daniel sighed. "I'm really sorry I haven't been more help, Evree. But I'm drawing a blank."

Evree's eyebrows suddenly knitted in concentration, and Daniel let her get her idea firmly in her head without interruption. "I think I know," she cried triumphantly. "In the garage, O'Neill keeps a box with many compartments in it. I have no notion what the objects he keeps in there are for, but it smells bad. The handle, I noticed, has been mended with that silver colored adhesive."

"Duct tape." Daniel got that part. He was still mulling over the bad smelling box when it suddenly clicked. "You want to get him a new tackle box for his fishing gear."

Evree was little more enlightened than she had been before. But at least Daniel had not said it was a bad idea. And she was beginning to get to the point where she was almost as tired of the current expedition as he was. "Where do we find one?"

&&&&&&

Jack saw Daniel the next day in the gym, and though he knew he shouldn't, he just couldn't resist a little fishing expedition. He never could. "I heard you took Evree shopping yesterday." Not a question, but a statement that invited elaboration.

"I'm not telling you what she got you, Jack," Daniel replied.

"Did I ask?" O'Neill queried in injured tones. "I was just checking to see how you survived the experience."

"And pigs will fly," Daniel muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" O'Neill asked, all innocence.

"I was saying that you owe me big time, Jack," Daniel lied. "If I hadn't been along you might have ended up getting a box of Trojans."

O'Neill winced. "I hope you managed to steer her towards something a little more in keeping with holiday gift-giving?"

"Actually, it was her idea," Daniel admitted. "I just helped carry it out. And that is all that you're getting out of me." He turned and walked away before O'Neill could continue the inquisition.

Jack watched him go, the gears turning. "A box of Trojans." he repeated, and shook his head.

&&&&&&

A few days before the holiday arrived, there was an informal and voluntary get together of such personnel as were not already on leave. There were very few people actually left in the complex, and those few were just waiting for their chance to go home for the holidays. Until then, most of them were eager to attend any sort of celebration, and General Hammond had ordered a holiday meal served in the mess hall before he himself went to spend some quality time spoiling his grandchildren. It was going to be a fairly simple affair, but since it was what was available, there was a certain amount of anticipation among those who would be there.

Especially Evree, who at this moment was in the infirmary, receiving help from Dr. Frasier on the last minute details.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she murmured nervously, eyeing her reflection in a mirror.

"Trust me." Janet patted her shoulder. "This will be the present that Colonel O'Neill likes best. I can practically guarantee it."


	17. The Spirit of Giving

130

The Spirit of Giving

Jack was already in the mess hall. To his left was General Hammond, and to his right was the rest of his team with one empty seat between them.

"Where is she?" he inquired of no one in particular, and more than a bit irritably. "She said she'd be here, she just had to get one last quick check-up in medical. But she went there first thing in the morning."

"Calm down, Jack," Hammond advised. "I'm sure everything is just fine. Dr. Frasier would have contacted you right away if there were anything wrong. They probably just got talking and lost track of the time."

Without a word, Teal'c suddenly stood, watching the door, and soon, nearly everyone was following suit.

Evree felt a little uncomfortable at being the center of so much attention. She could tell that they were watching her, because she knew that Janet was deliberately lagging a few paces behind, having put some thought into Evree's grand entrance.

All conversation had stopped, and when she could spare attention to glance at him, O'Neill stood there with his jaw hanging open.

It was only a few yards across the room to join O'Neill and the others, but to Evree it felt like miles. Miles that she was walking on her own two feet. With crutches, to be sure, but no longer bound to a wheelchair.

Then, somewhere in the room, someone started clapping their hands, and it was contagious in the extreme. By the time she reached O'Neill, who swept her off her feet in an enthusiastic bear hug, the whole room was cheering.

&&&&&

"I really am supposed to be walking," Evree murmured as O'Neill carried her into the house. She didn't really sound as if she was complaining.

"Not on ice," Jack declared firmly, feeling a twinge of guilt. If he'd gotten around to throwing some salt down, there wouldn't be any ice on the path to the house. "Doc Frasier would probably skin me alive if I let you fall and break a leg or something."

"But the snow is very pretty," Evree remarked with a little shiver. She had never lived anywhere where it got cold enough to snow, and she still had the wonder of a child where it was concerned.

Jack, on the other hand, had seen enough of the stuff to sour his attitude towards it somewhat. "Tell you what, then. As soon as the doctor says you're one hundred percent, you can shovel the stuff."

"You don't shovel it," Evree pointed out. "You pay that nice boy to do it for you."

"Twenty bucks a pop and you think the little thief is nice," O'Neill sighed.

"O'Neill." He could tell from her expression that she was shifting gears again. "Janet said that my being able to walk would be your favorite present. Is it?"

"How can I tell when we haven't opened our presents yet?" he teased, then relented as her features started to go from hopeful to crestfallen. "All the money in the world wouldn't make me as happy as seeing you walk again, hon."

Evree's eyes got shiny. "Truly, O'Neill?"

"Truly," he repeated, then couldn't resist a time-stopping kiss.

&&&&&&&

Jack looked at the calendar, marked in Evree's precise, stilted printing. On the twenty-third, it said 'dinner with the Carters'. On Christmas eve it said 'afternoon with Janet and Cassandra' then 'dinner with Daniel and Teal'c'. He was almost afraid to look at the holiday proper for fear that she had something scheduled that day too. But so far the only words in the box marked twenty-five were the printed ones that proclaimed it to be Christmas day.

The thump of crutches heralded Evree's entrance.

"You've got us booked in pretty solid for the holidays, don't you, hon?" He went and put his arms around her before she could become defensive about the implied criticism. "You'll wear yourself out."

Evree sighed with relief at the last qualification. He was only being concerned for her, something that always gave her a warm glow. "And you had not informed me of any prior plans. Did you have prior plans, O'Neill?"

Yeah, Jack thought, but kept to himself. Sitting in his favorite chair with his feet up, maybe watching some t.v., and definitely some snuggling with his sweetie. In other words, taking it easy. "Not really," he sighed. He reminded himself that it was her first Christmas.

&&&&&

Dinner with the Carters turned out to be a bigger affair than Jack had counted on. Not just Sam and Jacob, but her brother and his family, not to mention what he thought were some assorted in-laws as well. The house had been full, noisy, and with several kids constantly underfoot.

O'Neill wondered how Evree would do around kids, but they all seemed to take to her instantly. Perhaps because she found it all as exciting as they did. And she didn't talk down to them either. Both she and they had seemed to be terribly disappointed when the evening was over.

Jack snuggled down beside Evree as they retired. "You smell like candy canes," he remarked. "Did you have a good time playing with the kids?"

"I have never been amongst small children before," Evree mused. "I found them quite enjoyable." She had something on her mind too, but wasn't sure how it would be received.

Even cuddled together in the dark, Jack could sense the shift in moods. "Is there something wrong, hon?"

"No, nothing wrong," Evree replied slowly. Then, suddenly, before she lost her nerve, she blurted out, "O'Neill, I should like for us to have a child. A human child, I mean."

O'Neill was taken completely by surprise, but once he thought about it for a couple of seconds, he was surprised that he should have been surprised. "You saw those kids on their best behavior for just a few hours," he commented. "A baby of your own is a twenty-four/seven deal. And if you think the surveillance is bad now, try to imagine it doubled, or maybe even tripled."

"Why? Because I would not be considered competent to take care of a baby?" Evree couldn't imagine another reason why there should be more surveillance on them if they started a family.

"Because you and I both have some very powerful, very dangerous enemies," O'Neill explained, thinking that maybe on this occasion, she was being deliberately dense. "And if we had a kid, he or she would be under almost constant threat of abduction, to use against us."

He felt the goosebumps rise on her skin. "That is horrible, O'Neill," she whispered. She was silent after that, but Jack could tell that she hadn't gone to sleep, she was way too tense for that.

"Evree, honey," O'Neill said softly. "I can tell that you're disappointed, but it really wouldn't be fair to the kid." He wasn't too cool on the idea himself. Having lost Charlie, he didn't think he could stand to have another kid. Especially not one that would be as much of a target as one from him and Evree. "I know it's not the same thing, but if we get the go-ahead on your idea of using your children to help cripples and the Tok'ra, I'll let you use my genetic material for it." It was, he felt, a major concession on his part.

"I shall have to think about it, O'Neill," she murmured softly. She managed not to start crying until after he had dropped off to sleep.

&&&&&&

Uncharacteristically, Evree was up before O'Neill, whose years in the military had made him a habitual early riser. He felt a stab of panic, thinking something must be wrong.

Instead, he found Evree sitting at the kitchen table, calmly drinking a cup of tea.

He nuked himself a cup of yesterday's coffee and joined her. "Are you all right? It's not like you to get up this early."

Evree smile warmly at him. "I could not sleep any longer," she replied. "I think it must be the excitement. Aren't you excited about Christmas, O'Neill?"

&&&&&&

The day passed quickly enough, though. O'Neill had felt a little outnumbered when they were at Dr. Frasier's. Or maybe redundant was a better word. Like there was some sort of running joke going on between the three females, and his Y chromosome prevented him from getting it.

Daniel and Teal'c had initially elected to spend the holidays together because they had no families to share them with. But Daniel had invited Jack and Evree to break things up a little bit. And then was glad he'd made plenty of food, as dinner for four became dinner for six.

Bra'tac and Rya'c had shown up completely unexpectedly.

"Things are quiet enough at the moment," Bra'tac had said. "And I understand this is a Tau'ri observance that places emphasis on families being together."

"In theory, anyway," Daniel muttered. But he really wasn't displeased at the extra guests. He did wonder, however, how they and Evree would get along.

When O'Neill realized they weren't the only guests, he nearly forgot about Evree as he rushed to greet the two Jaffa. Evree had heard of them, of course, but she wondered if they had heard of her, and if so, what they had heard.

It took a moment before Daniel realized a social faux pas had been committed. "Please, forgive my complete lack of manners," he said quietly. Not only was it an apology to those who deserved it, but a reminder to at least one other person that his manners hadn't been the best. "Evree, this is Master Bra'tac, he..,"

"I have heard of Master Bra'tac," Evree interrupted. "He is nearly a legend." She smiled at him as naturally as she could, but nerves caused her lips to tremble slightly.

Bra'tac had been skeptical enough when he had heard of a Goa'uld deserting from the ranks, but now, seeing Evree, and having heard from trusted friends on the subject, his suspicions were beginning to crumble. "I am unworthy of the honor you do me, my lady." He bowed deeply.

"No titles for me anymore, Master Bra'tac," Evree corrected softly. "Now, I am just Evree. At least, I am to my friends. I hope that someday I shall be able to count you among them."

Bra'tac felt a smile break out despite his reservations. He was most curious about the renegade queen, but the introductions were not yet complete.

"This is my son, Rya'c," Teal'c stated.

"How do you do, Rya'c?" Evree held out her hand, and the young Jaffa took it a little gingerly. She looked at Teal'c's beaming face. "You must be very proud of him."

"I am," Teal'c replied, simply.

"You are Goa'uld?" Rya'c burst out undiplomatically.

"And you are Jaffa," Evree pointed out. "It would seem that neither of us is behaving in the manner expected of us." The remark brought smiles to most of those present. Evree had been leaning solely on one crutch, to free a hand for her greetings, but as she tried to adjust so she could move again, she became unbalanced and started to fall.

Bra'tac caught her, but it was O'Neill who held her until she was steady again.

"Are you all right, hon?" Evree saw nothing in his face but concern for her well-being.

"I am fine, O'Neill," she replied reassuringly. "I merely put weight on that side and didn't have it properly braced." She sighed. "Happy as I am to be out of the wheelchair, I shall be happier still when I need no artificial aids."

"May I make so bold as to ask why a Goa'uld would need such at all?" It was a question that had been on Bra'tac's mind ever since Evree had arrived. But seeing how solicitous O'Neill was about her welfare had added weight to Evree's side of the scales.

Jack had been occupied seeing her onto the sofa comfortably, then sat down beside her, and arm draped casually, but possessively around her shoulders. But he didn't say anything, it was her story to tell.

Evree wriggled back into the comfort of him a moment before she began. "Draylea, my original host.., died." She sniffed and blinked her eyes several times, but managed not to cry. "This body the Tau'ri found to be host to me has been dormant for some years. The muscles were nearly useless from the inactivity. And with no access to a sarcophagus, I have to regain its strength the hard way." She suddenly turned to O'Neill and said something she had told no one. "Draylea wanted to go, O'Neill. She said she was tired, and that I needed a new host for my new life." Then, a tear did trickle down her cheek. "I miss her." She buried her face in his shoulder.

"Whoever heard of a Goa'uld who formed a bond with their host?" Bra'tac murmured reflectively. He was finding Evree to be full of surprises.

"Who indeed?" Teal'c responded to his mentor. "She is not like other Goa'uld." But even though he knew that Evree had ample cause for tears, he did not care to see her cry, especially on what was supposed to be a happy occasion. He went and fetched a package from beneath Daniel's tiny tree and knelt in front of Evree. "This is for you."

"For me?" Evree gave on last sniffle and got herself under control. She looked at the gaily wrapped package in her hands with something akin to awe.

"Open it," Teal'c urged gently. He had had to put more thought into a gift for Evree than all the rest of SG-1 put together.

Evree started to carefully coax the tape away from the paper. Jack sighed. He should have known. "Just rip the wrapping paper," he commanded softly. "The paper isn't the gift. The gift is inside."

Evree looked at Teal'c, after all, it was his gift. He nodded and Evree tore the paper and opened the small box within, and pulled out the metal object contained therein, eyes wide, jaws agape.

"It's.., it's a warrior's badge," she murmured. "The mark that a Jaffa has proved himself in battle."

"You have earned it," Teal'c stated. "Even though you no longer have the battle scars to prove it." He began to get up, but was halted when Evree leaned over to throw her arms around him.

"Well, that's going to be a hard act to follow," Daniel muttered, mostly to himself, but Evree heard him.

"Daniel, I shall like whatever you have gotten me," she declared, releasing Teal'c. "Because, as you say here, it is the thought that counts, and whatever it is, it will be a token of our friendship."

Daniel grabbed a tissue and blew his nose loudly. "Damned allergies," he mumbled, fooling no one. "So, do we open the rest of the presents now, or eat first?"

&&&&&&

Jack snuck out of bed early on Christmas morning. It wasn't too hard, Evree was very much out of it. She hadn't even made it home last night, but had crashed on the way back.

First, he started a fire in the fireplace. A nice, romantic touch, and he figured if he got it going now, it could take care of itself by the time he was ready for that 'romantic touch'. He grinned to himself. The underside of the tree was starting to look a little naked, since their gifts for everyone but themselves had already been distributed.

Once the fire was crackling merrily, he went into the kitchen to fix breakfast. If Evree wasn't up by the time it was ready, he would go and get her. Someone else, he might have surprised with breakfast in bed, but being so recently confined to a hospital bed, he didn't think Evree would appreciate the gesture.

O'Neill pricked up his ears as he heard sounds from the bedroom announcing louder than words that Evree was up and about. He knew better than to go it and try to help her. She had made herself very clear on the subject of doing what she was able to do herself. Quite a step for someone who used to have people to do everything for her.

Breakfast was just about ready when Evree stumped into the kitchen.

"Good morning." He loved how she looked first thing in the morning, with her eyes still heavy from sleep. It occurred to him that that was something that hadn't changed with the new host. In fact, not really much of anything had. It was Evree he wanted. The host body was just what made it possible.

"Good morning, O'Neill." She smiled at him sleepily and tilted her head up for a kiss.

The kiss took a little longer than Jack had anticipated. When they finally came up for air, Evree remarked, "I believe that something is burning."

And so it was. Oh well, it was the last pancake of the batch. But it was so badly burned that it looked as though it had become one with the griddle. Sandblasting might not remove it.

"I refuse to let one burned pancake ruin my Christmas spirit," Jack stated, and was mildly surprised to find that he actually did have some of the holiday spirit going. It must be Evree's enthusiasm rubbing off on him.

"When do we open the presents?" Evree asked.

O'Neill laughed. "You're just like a little kid," he said fondly. "After breakfast. Okay?"

"All right," Evree agreed. She seemed to ponder something for a moment. "Am I really being childish?"

He set a plate in front of her and kissed the top of her head. "Childlike, not childish," he corrected.

"What precisely is the difference?" Evree inquired around a mouthful of food.

O'Neill had to think a moment himself, to figure out just how to word it. "Childish is behaving immaturely, or irresponsibly," he finally replied. "Childlike is more of an attitude, having a kid's enthusiasm, seeing everything like it's the first time."

Evree smiled warmly. "I am seeing it all for the first time, O'Neill," she reminded him. She took another bite. "This is very good. Much superior to the food in the mess hall."

"Don't spread it around," he joked. "It would ruin my reputation if people knew I could cook." Before she could question him, he added, "It looks like you're about done. Ready to open presents?"

There were three or four little presents each, and Daniel had been able to help Evree with those, but Evree was eager for the main event. "I wish you to open that one first, please." She pointed to the largest thing under the tree.

After the scant bit of information he'd been able to pry out of Daniel, O'Neill felt a certain amount of trepidation, but she was so excited, she was practically glowing. Her eyes were. Gearing himself up to give an academy award winning performance, Jack started ripping open wrapping paper.

"Wow, this is great," Jack commented with unfeigned delight. The sight of the box made his fingers positively itch for his fishing rod. "And Daniel said you thought of this all by yourself?"

"You really like it?" Evree flushed with pleasure that she had gotten it right. "Look inside, there is something else."

Jack looked. "A gift certificate," he murmured. He looked at Evree.

"I thought you might want more supplies, whatever they are for, to fill it," Evree explained. "This one is larger than the other. But I did not know what you might like. Daniel suggested the gift certificate, so that you could choose."

"I love it," O'Neill declared. "But it's your turn now." He fetched a much smaller package from under the tree, and tried not to hold his breath. He wanted her to like it as much as he liked his gift from her.

Evree was almost shaking with anticipation as she pulled the little velvet box free of its wrappings. When she opened it, she sat for what seemed to O'Neill a sizable piece of eternity, looking at it.

Inside the box was a gold chain from which hung a gold heart. Picked out in tiny, glittering stones on the heart were two cartouches. The ones that had been on Evree's note when she'd given herself up to Anubis. The ones for her name and his.

"Evree?" Jack really couldn't take the suspense any longer.

Evree raised her head, which caused the welling tears to trickle down, but he could see they were happy tears, so O'Neill gently took the necklace from her and fastened it around her neck, and then kissed her.

"I shall wear it always," Evree murmured huskily in his ear.

"Then you like it?" Jack teased. He could see that she did.

"I love it," she replied. "I love you, O'Neill."

"I love you too, hon," he replied. He gave her another, longer kiss. "Do you think you could see your way clear to calling me Jack?"


	18. Cabin Fever

137

Cabin Fever

Evree was looking at herself critically in the full-length mirror.., still. Sam had already reached her conclusion.

"You look great, Evree," she remarked. "There isn't a flabby muscle left in that body." It was nothing but the truth. As soon as Evree had been walking on her own, completely unaided, she had launched herself into an exhausting physical fitness program.

Evree turned, craning her neck, trying to see behind her. "You do not think there is still too much..,"

"It's just fine," Sam interrupted. "I just don't understand why you guys put off your vacation so long. You've been walking for months now."

"Well, at first there was still some bad weather." Evree was still checking out every little detail in the mirror. "Jack said he didn't want to take me there until he was sure winter had truly passed. In case something went wrong and I needed medical attention." Evree was finding that O'Neill could get her to do about anything if only he told her that it was because he was concerned with her well-being. Such a declaration always tended to turn her into a puddle of pliant goo.

Sam nodded. She could see that. "But winter's been over for more than a month now. What's the hold-up?"

"Well there was that emergency mission that was so secret that O'Neill won't even tell me about it," Evree pointed out. "Not to mention my having to explain my suggestion that my children be hosted by the physically incapacitated to more people than I can remember." Her eyes were still riveted to the mirror. "Are these trousers supposed to be so short?" They were actually on a shopping expedition to outfit Evree for the long postponed trip.

"That's why they're called shorts," Sam replied patiently. "You've got nice legs, Evree. Why not show them off a little?"

Evree held up a hanger holding two small wisps of material. "This will show considerably more than my legs, Samantha."

Sam grinned. "You're not going to be wearing a bikini on the street, Evree," she explained. "That's to wear while you're swimming."

"Jack did not mention swimming," Evree murmured, thinking aloud more than arguing.

"Well, he can't fish all the time," Sam remarked, thinking that he'd better not, anyway. "And if the water's good enough for fish to swim in, it ought to be okay for people."

Evree was still eyeing the bikini. "With so little here, why bother to wear anything at all?"

"Two words," Sam replied. "Modesty and surveillance."

Evree had almost put the thought of surveillance out of her mind, but now it came back in a rush. She looked at the bikini again. "Will it cover enough?"

&&&&&&

Jack swung Evree out of the car. "Just you, me and the lake, for two whole weeks." He'd made a careful point not to remember to bring the cell phone. No one was going to ruin their vacation. Instead of setting Evree down, he pulled her close and murmured in her ear, "Have I mentioned how hot you look in that outfit?"

Evree giggled. "I believe this is the fourth.., no," she corrected herself. "The fifth time." She wasn't sure if it was the clothes or the time off. She thought the flowing garments she habitually wore were much more aesthetically pleasing. "But I am pleased that you like it."

Jack was about to lean down to plant a kiss on her when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fish jumping in the lake. He looked at the lake, and then Evree, and back again. Discounting the fact that he and Evree had made love last night, but he hadn't been fishing in a long time, Jack did seem to remember that he'd promised her fish for supper. Well, he'd have to catch them first, wouldn't he? His eyes began to glaze over.

"No," Evree said firmly, wriggling out of his arms.

"No what?" Surely she wasn't going to insist on him devoting every waking moment to her, was she?

"Janet told me that I was to insist that you help me unpack before you go to.., 'drown some worms' was how I believe that she put it." Evree's brows knitted in thought. "I was under the impression that you wanted to catch fish."

"I'll explain while we're unpacking," O'Neill answered with a sigh. He gave one last wistful glance at the lake before starting to haul stuff to the cabin.

&&&&&&

O'Neill, in a burst of good-willed enthusiasm, or perhaps it was insanity, offered to teach Evree to fish. He was rapidly beginning to lean towards the insanity theory.

"That worm is still alive," Evree observed. It was not that she had issues touching a worm like some women O'Neill had known. Evree's concerns were elsewhere. "You intend to impale it on that metal hook while it is still alive?"

Jack sighed. "That's how it's done, honey," he explained wearily. If it was this bad with an almost totally featureless worm, he hated to think what it would have been like if he'd been using minnows. They had little faces.

"It is a very cruel thing to do," Evree stated flatly. "I will not torment the poor creatures so."

Jack was belatedly realizing that perhaps Evree would have reason to empathize with a worm. He rummaged around in the tackle box and pulled out some artificial worms he'd bought in a moment of madness. He'd never had much luck with them. "Here," he said. "These aren't alive and never have been. Can you deal with that?" He was starting to get impatient to drop his hook into the water.

"And the fish cannot tell the difference?" Evree inquired.

He could see where she was going with this. "That's what it says on the package," he hedged.

"Then why do you not use them as well?"

&&&&&&

Once they had cleared up the initial arguments, the afternoon passed in relative amity. They sat side by side with their fishing poles, exchanging the occasional comment, but mostly spending the time in a companionable silence. The only frustrating part of it, at least from O'Neill's point of view, was that the fish weren't biting.

"Look at this, Jack." Evree had laid down her fishing rod to pick something up off the ground. O'Neill was feeling lazy, and was only going to open about half an eye until he heard the rattle.

O'Neill opened both eyes wide, and had to fight down the urge to jerk himself upright. No sudden moves. "Don't move, Evree," he said softly, keeping his eyes glued to what she held in her hand.

"What is wrong, O'Neill?" Evree queried, picking up on his mood immediately. "I think it is quite an interesting creature."

"It's also a poisonous one, sweetheart," Jack said. The sweat that the late afternoon sun had failed to produce now trickled down in rivulets, brought on by fear that she was going to get herself bitten. "Just hold still, and don't do anything until I tell you to."

Evree sat like a statue while O'Neill very carefully put his hand right behind hers, glad that somehow she had managed in her ignorance to grab the snake in the one way that it couldn't bite her. When he was sure that he had it firmly, he said, "Now, let go, and keep your hand away from its mouth."

Evree complied, and watched as he took the wriggling, hissing, rattling creature a few feet away, and then flung it as far away from him as he could.

When he sat back down beside her, he pulled her into his arms, and Evree could feel the frantic beating of his heart, and smell the fear induced sweat. She snuggled against him. She felt badly that she had done so stupid a thing and endangered both herself and him. But she also felt that warm glow she always got when he showed concern for her. And this was a much more concrete demonstration than mere words. Not that she had ever doubted the words. "Was it truly that dangerous, my love?"

"If you ever see any snake at all again," Jack instructed shakily, still trying to calm himself down. "Just assume it's poisonous until proven innocent. And if it rattles like that one, leave it the hell alone. It could have killed you."

"I am sorry that I worried you, O'Neill." Most of the time, Evree remembered to call him Jack, but in the more emotional moments, he was still O'Neill, and probably always would be. "I do not like seeing you so distressed. Especially since I was the cause of it. Will you forgive me?" She pulled back a bit so that she could reach up and wipe away a drop of sweat, then kissed his cheek.

"I'm not upset with you, honey," he hastened to reassure her. "I was just so afraid..," He choked on the words and pulled her back to him, as if by holding her tightly, he could make sure that nothing was going to happen to her.

They sat that way for some time. After a while, Evree said, "Jack, your fishing pole is moving."

Distracted, O'Neill made a dive for his fishing rod before it could be dragged completely into the water.

&&&&&

Now, they were just sitting, watching the sunset. O'Neill tried to remember the last time he'd watched the sun set just for the joy of it and decided it had been too long. He took a drink of his beer. Evree was not drinking beer. She had sampled it once, and didn't like the taste. She had, however, developed a passion for grape soda, so Jack had brought a supply of that as well.

"You seem quite content," Evree remarked. She had noted that the chair he was sitting in was too small for two people to sit side by side in, so she had solved the problem by sitting on his lap. She didn't think he'd mind.

He didn't mind. "I think I needed this," he confessed. "Look there." He pointed to a raccoon, waddling on its way a few yards off.

"Is that dangerous as well?" Evree had decided to take a conservative view of the various fauna ever since the rattlesnake incident.

"Not most of the time," Jack admitted. "But they can carry rabies. Which means that if one bit you, you'd need a whole series of shots. In the stomach." It wasn't a pleasant topic of conversation, but he wanted to make sure she'd be careful, and he knew Evree loathed getting shots.

"I will leave the beasts alone, Jack," she promised solemnly. "I feel badly that I upset you so."

"It was my fault as much as yours," O'Neill conceded. "I should have thought to warn you about the wildlife. And there's plenty of it up here. If you sit still for long enough, sometimes you can see deer."

"You like this place above all others, don't you?" Evree guessed.

He laughed softly. "I guess I do at that. I always figured I'd probably retire here when my time came."

"There are no people here," Evree pointed out.

"Sometimes that's a big plus," O'Neill said in all seriousness. "Although it's kind of nice to have a warm, cuddly woman along." He gave her a squeeze.

There was a long silence as they just sat there, nestled together watching as the sun disappeared below the horizon, the shadows lengthen and the moon begin to rise.

Suddenly, Jack felt Evree's body tense. "O'Neill," she hissed quietly. "There is something blinking over there."

Following the direction her finger pointed as best he could in the gloom, Jack squinted, but couldn't make out anything. Then, he saw the flickering lights and realized what they were. He let out his pent-up breath in a rush.

"They're called fireflies, or lightning bugs," he explained. "They're not dangerous. I used to catch them all the time when I was a kid."

Now that Evree knew there was nothing to fear, she relaxed and enjoyed the show, for the first few flickers had gained sizable reinforcements. "They are very pretty," she commented. "But why do they do that?"

"The same reason that males of just about any species shows off," O'Neill replied. "To attract a mate."

"I do not recall you 'showing off'," Evree remarked, shifting in his lap so she could wrap her arms around his neck.

"You don't count saving your life?" Jack asked teasingly. "I thought it was pretty impressive."

"It was," Evree agreed. One hand started massaging the back of his neck. "But you did not want me as a mate then."

"And maybe I did but I just didn't know it," Jack murmured. "What say we get a blanket and throw it on the ground? Make love with the fireflies and the stars..,"

"And the mosquitoes," Evree put in, slapping one. "And the surveillance cameras."

Jack winced. He'd kind of accidentally on purpose forgotten about the surveillance. Too many other distractions. Like the one that was sitting on his lap. "I kind of forgot about the surveillance," he admitted. Or, more likely, didn't want to remember.

"I wish it were not necessary as well," Evree murmured. "Will we do this every night we are here?"

"You mean watch the sun set?" O'Neill was slowly starting to get used to how her mind worked. Since the surveillance was something they couldn't do anything about, it was no longer worth discussing. "If you want to, I suppose. Do you like it?"

"Very much," Evree replied, snuggling against him. "We almost never seem to have time for things like this. To just be together with nothing else to do."

"That's what a vacation is for," Jack responded. It was nice, and he was in no great hurry to get up anyway. So much of their relationship had been hormonally based that is was a novelty just to sit and chat about whatever took their fancies. But then, hadn't that been part of the thinking behind the whole trip?

"While we are here, perhaps you could begin teaching me to cook," Evree said out of the clear blue.

"You want to learn to cook?" For some reason, the request floored O'Neill. "Why?"

"Because I do not know how," Evree answered. "You do everything, even the laundry. I find this relationship to be highly inequitable when it should be as equal partners."

Jack mulled it over. There had been times when he'd felt a little irritated when she had just stood idly by, watching as he worked, so her couldn't very well say that he didn't mind, because he did. But he did understand. Evree had never lifted a finger for herself in her life, nor had she needed to. And when was he going to have this much leisure to show her the ropes? "Sure," he agreed. "Just don't get bent out of shape if you make a few mistakes."

"I am aware that there is a larger margin of error for a beginner than an expert," Evree shot back, sounding a little miffed.

"I'm just saying that I've noticed that you're something of a perfectionist," O'Neill explained patiently, trying to keep his tones as uncritical as possible. "And you're not going to be able to do things perfectly right away. At least, not with cooking. Some people never get the hang of it."

"How can they not if they follow the instructions in the book?" Evree asked, puzzled. At least she wasn't sounding offended anymore.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "But there are some people out there who can follow a recipe every step of the way and still come up with something even the dog won't eat."

Evree thought about it for a while. She hadn't realized it was such a complex task. "So you are saying it is not just a matter of knowledge, but of talent as well?"

"Something like that," O'Neill conceded.

"Maybe I had just better wash the dishes," Evree said in a small voice.

"Don't worry, hon," Jack soothed. "I'll start you out on easy stuff. And I'll be right there to help you. You'll do fine."

"You can say that when I have no discernable talents?" Evree was confused.

"Everybody's got talents," Jack declared. "You just don't know what yours are because you've never had to do anything." He started nuzzling her neck. "I can think of at least one thing you're very talented at."

Evree flushed. "That is not talent," she argued. "That is instinctive response to sensory stimuli."

Jack didn't stop what he was doing, and mumbled against her neck. "If that were true, it would be the same no matter who you slept with." He boosted her out of his lap and stood up. Gallantry was one thing, but he was not going to try picking her up from a sitting position. Especially with a couple of beers in him. "How about a practical demonstration away from the surveillance cameras?"

&&&&&

Evree was still in the bathroom, getting into something slinky and sexy. Sometimes O'Neill thought that she spent more time getting ready for bed than she did to face the day. And here he was, ready to go. Well, almost ready. There was one more thing he needed, and suddenly his casual rummaging around in his suitcase became a frantic search. He couldn't have forgotten, could he? The nearest town was over an hour away, and would be closed up at this hour anyway. His search became even more frenzied when he heard the bathroom door open.

"Is something wrong?" Evree came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Jack felt torn in several directions at once. He didn't want to ruin the first night of their vacation, but this was ground they'd already covered. He sighed. He took risks all the time, it was part of his job. But this was a different kind of risk altogether. Then part of him said that risk always comes with love, whether for family, friends or a bedmate, that there was always a chance of getting hurt. And if you didn't take the risks and go ahead and love anyway, you weren't really living.

"O'Neill?" He had been still so long that Evree was becoming concerned.

Jack turned around and took her in his arms. "Nothing's wrong," he assured her. "I was just thinking."

"Think later," Evree ordered. "Now it is time for making love."

It was an order that O'Neill thought he could live with, although there was still a part of him that felt he was taking a bigger risk than he ever did when he stepped through the stargate.


End file.
